The White Sheep in a Black Family
by Miana
Summary: A series of Andromeda Black/Tonks vigs, taking place throughout her life.
1. Intro & 07 Betray

This is the beginning of a series of vigs I have written centering around Andromeda Black/Tonks. I'm participating in LiveJournal's FanFic 50 and chose Andromeda and Ted as my writing subject. The vigs will be scattered and out of order, as I'm still writing them.

None of this is for profit; just for fun.

Andromeda held her head high as she walked down the staircase, keeping one gloved-hand poised lightly on the rail and the other holding up her hem. Below in the parlor, she could hear the sound of her family chatting merrily. Her aunt Walburga's shrill voice echoed through the corridors and stairway, causing a pause in Andromeda's step. Her lower lip threatened to wobble, yet she set her jaw and held it in place.

They would understand in time.

Hopefully.

Sucking in a small breath, Andromeda continued down from the third floor. Her aunt's dreary house, Grimmauld Place, had been transformed for the holidays. It seemed brighter than usual and did not have the dark gloom is usually possessed. Her aunt and uncle's spirits were higher than ever, which seemed to have even affected moody Bellatrix.

Bellatrix…

Andromeda inwardly cringed at the thought of what her sister would say – what she would do. She knew the answer to her own question, and it was not happy.

She would not be able to ever come back.

She paused to look around the staircase. It would undoubtedly be the last time she ever looked upon it as a welcome guest. The house, dreary though it was, held many memories for Andromeda. A small smile crossed her lips as she recalled the many adventures she and Narcissa had experienced in the house, and moreso how much trouble they had gotten into when Aunt Walburga had found out.

Her smile faltered as she eyed the stairs ahead of her. She set her shoulders and continued walking. She had to be strong and alert; there was no room for softness or weakness in what she was about to do.

"Well you don't look nervous at all."

Andromeda jumped with a small gasp, pulling her wand out of her sleeve and wheeling on the voice in one deft move.

Sirius Black stood leaning against the doorframe of his bedroom, arms crossed over his chest and an eyebrow raised questioningly. He eyed the wand trained on him then the owner with a small smirk. "You're the one who used to make me believe this place was haunted. Look who's jumping at shadows now."

Andromeda left out a breath of relief then slid her wand back into her sleeve. "Bellatrix told you that, actually. Sorry; you scared me."

Sirius shrugged, shaking his head lightly so that his dark locks handsomely swayed over his young face. "It's all right. I'm just delaying the inevitable bore that is downstairs."

Andromeda mustered a small smile. "Come now, it's Christmas. It's supposed to be a joyous holiday."

"Since when is our Christmas ever joyous?" Sirius shot back with a smile, causing Andromeda to laugh lightly before her smile slowly died. Sirius' smile lessened as well, his grey eyes narrowing as he assessed his cousin. "Are you all right?"

Andromeda blinked and flashed a fake smile again. "I'm fine, really. I'm just a bit… distracted."

Sirius snorted. "I'll say. I've been standing here for the last five minutes and you didn't even notice, being so preoccupied with having a staring contest with the parlor." He turned his head to try to see her gaze better. "Are you sure everything's all right?"

Andromeda let out a sigh, letting her worry and fatigue cover her face as she turned to her younger cousin. Though he was only eleven years of age, Sirius had become her only real confident in their family. Their bond was strong as siblings; she supposed it was due to the two of them being the only Blacks in centuries who had not been sorted into Slytherin. It had marked them both by their family, a fact that Andromeda to this day still resented.

And yet, wonderful things had happened because of it. Besides bringing herself and Sirius closer together, being in Ravenclaw had changed her life forever.

She had met Ted Tonks.

And that was exactly the problem.

Sirius's face had softened to actual worry. Andromeda felt as though she was going to cry yet inhaled and settled her nerves.

"I'm leaving," she said softly.

"Good, take me with you so we can ditch this bore-fest," Sirius said with a relieved laugh. Andromeda did not laugh or smile, which caused his face to drop back to worry. Realization filled his eyes as he measured up his cousin with confusion. "You're leaving-leaving."

Andromeda nodded. "Yes. Tonight. I already have my things packed, here and at home. I plan to tell Father and the rest of them, then leave before they can change my mind. Or kill me."

"You're running away with Ted," Sirius surmised.

Andromeda gave a genuine smile as she shook her head. "Not running away, no." She held up her left hand, a small lump protruding beneath the glove on one of her fingers. "Ted proposed to me last night. I'm staying with his family until we marry in spring."

Sirius stared at her incredulously, then smiled. "Congratulations. Mum and Grandma Irma are going to kill you, though."

"I know," Andromeda said with a heavy sigh as she looked down at her hands. "But I love him, Sirius. I don't care about his heritage." She looked back up at her cousin with a coy smile. "When you find yourself a girlfriend that actually lasts a week, you'll understand."

Sirius snerked then tossed his hair again. "What can I say; the girls throw themselves at me."

Andromeda laughed then motioned for her cousin to come closer. When he was within arms reach, she pulled him into a tight embrace. Tears threatened to come to her eyes as she realized that it might in fact be the last time she spoke to her favorite cousin. She held him tighter as she fought back a sniffle.

"Promise me something, Sirius."

"What?"

"Don't let them tell you who you are or who you're supposed to be. Even if they don't like it, always follow your heart."

There was a slight pause before he solemnly replied. "I will."

Pushing him back to look him over, she gave a smile. "You'll visit, won't you?"

"Visit? I better be invited to the wedding."

"Of course." She hugged him once more, planting a soft kiss on his head. When she released him, she let out a deep breath, wiping her eyes to make sure no tears had fallen. "Well, shall we?"

"Wait." Sirius dashed back into his room, coming back a second later with a small bag. He shoved it into her hands, Andromeda realizing with the chinking noise it made that it was a sack of gold.

"Sirius, this is your savings. I can't take this-"

"Of course you can. And that's just what Uncle Alphard gave me for my birthday, so don't worry. It's not like the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black is short on money," he said in a mocking tone.

Andromeda slid the bag into her pocket with a smile, then held out her arm to her cousin.

"Accompany me to my death?"

"It's my pleasure," he replied as he took her arm and walked with her down the staircase.

As they entered the parlor, a small chorus of voices spoke up; Aunt Walburga snidely remarked at how long it had taken Sirius to turn up, Grandmother Irma voiced her impatience, and Regulus whined about being hungry. Andromeda eyed the parlor guests. Her family. Her grandfathers Pollux and Arcturus sat with Irma in cozy armchairs near the fire while her great aunt Cassiopeia snored softly beside them. Aunt Walburga had been conversing with Bellatrix, both of them sharing a similar sneer. Her father and Uncle Orion both had a glass of liquor in their hand and stood in the corner with her and Sirius' favorite uncle, Alphard. Narcissa sat poised on the sofa admiring her nails while Regulus sat pouting and longingly eyeing the sweets table.

Uncle Alphard crossed the room and handed a glass of wine to Andromeda. "Something to drink, Meda? You look like you could use it."

Andromeda flashed a smile of gratitude and sipped from the glass. "Thanks Uncle Alphard." She let the liquid calm her shaking nerves as Alphard drew Sirius away to discuss school. Her eyes watched her family; studied their faces, remembered their laughs, secretly wished that it could be different somehow. She turned her attention to the ancient Black tapestry that hung from the wall, showing their line and her relatives from the past one hundred and fifty years. The Noble House of Black. A proud line that had stood for centuries.

Her eyes lingered on her name and up the line. Through the fine weave and golden threads, black holes dotted the ancient fabric. Beside her grandfather Pollux and his sister Cassiopeia stood a scorch over what used to be a name; great-uncle Marius. His crime had been accidental and completely out of his hands; he had been born a Squib. After two years of being forced to go to Hogwarts to try to lure any hidden magic out of him, he ran away to live as a Muggle in London. Andromeda had no doubt that had he waited, his parents would have murdered him.

His cousin too was blasted out of the Black's history. Andromeda remembered Uncle Alphard telling her of it. Her distanct cousin Cedrella Black had betrayed the family and married a wizard from a "lesser blood line," Septimus Weasley. The family had never forgiven her, as evident by the black hole that stood where her name should have.

More holes even as she went further up. Her great-great uncle Phineas, "wrongly named after his father," as Aunt Walburga had once commented, had supported Muggle Rights. The stories were mixed, but Andromeda had come to believe the story that his siblings had arranged his death so as to not disgrace the family name even more was probably the most accurate.

At the top of the line stood the oldest scorch. Isla Black. Her only crime had been love. She, above the rest, had betrayed the family and married a Muggle. Andromeda's eyes remained on the mark. She was about to take a similar step. Her eyes flashed down to her own name. She wondered how long it would before her name too was removed; burned from memory as yet another who disgraced the family name.

_Aunt Isla, give me the strength you had to do what you knew was right._

Andromeda set her wine glass down then sucked in a breath as she eyed her family. Now or never. "Everyone, please. I have some wonderful news."

The conversations throughout the room halted as all eyes turned to her. Narcissa finished inspecting a fingernail then looked up at her sister with boredom. Andromeda ignored Bellatrix's cold stare and sought out Sirius' eyes. He was feigning ignorance, but gave a quick wink.

Grandma Irma's impatient voice croaked out. "What is it, Andromeda? Speak up."

Another breath to calm her nerves. She smiled widely. "I'm getting married."

The room was dead silent minus the cracking of the fire. Andromeda could feel the eyes of her family glaring at her, emotions mixing from awe, shock, rage, hatred, and disgust.

Uncle Alphard broke the silence with a hearty laugh. "This calls for a drink!"

"Alphard!" several voices snapped.

Bellatrix took several steps toward her sister, her arms crossed over her chest. "You can't be serious."

"Of course she isn't!" Alphard spoke up with a chortle. "Sirius is right here!"

"Alphard, hold your tongue or I will remove it for you," Pollux growled coldly. His dark eyes leveled at his granddaughter. "You're marrying the Mudblood?"

"His name is Ted," Andromeda corrected coldly. "I know you won't approve, which is why I did not ask permission," she added with a hopefully sympathetic look to her father. "But I love him -"

"He's a Mudblood!" Bellatrix shrieked.

"He's still a wizard," Andromeda shot back, glaring at her sister. "And don't you dare call him that."

"How dare you disgrace us like this," Aunt Walburga growled as she crossed the room to stand before Andromeda. "Shame of our family! Dishonor to our blood line!"

"This family has disgraced me enough," Andromeda shot back. "I love Ted and I am marrying him. I will lead a happy life away from all of you."

"Mind your place, young lady," Pollux barked harshly as he rose to his feet. "Shame, Andromeda. If your mother was still alive-"

A flame of anger rose within Andromeda, giving her courage to speak out. "Shame? For choosing whom I want to love? That is no bigger shame than living with a family that would incestually arrange my marriage to a cousin!"

Walburga slapped Andromeda hard across the face. Andromeda recoiled slowly, eyeing her father. "Papa," she pleaded in a whisper. "Please. Understand."

Cygnus Black eyed his daughter with hurt eyes. He finally turned away, shaking his head. "How could you betray us like this, Andromeda?"

"I thought you could sink no lower." Bellatrix spat with a shake of her head. "Marrying a Mudblood-"

"I said don't call him that!" Andromeda yelled, pulling her wand on her sister. The room erupted in angry voices as Bellatrix pulled her own wand, pointing it at her sister's face and blasting a hex. Andromeda blocked it and shot one back at her sister. She soon had five wands pointed at her, Aunt Walburga grabbing her arm and wrestling her wand away from her as she prepared to fire yet another at her sister. Bellatrix shot one back anyway, hitting her defenseless sister in the chest. Andromeda screamed in pain and crumpled to the ground.

Silence followed as Uncle Orion strode forward and stood over his niece. He backhanded her across the cheek, not even flinching as Andromeda let out a hurt cry.

"Get out of my house."

Sirius wiggled out from beneath Alphard's grip, preparing to cross the room to Andromeda.

"Sirius, take one step more and you are joining her," Orion barked.

Sirius paused in his step, eyeing Andromeda who shook her head. With defeat, he let Alphard take his shoulders and pull him back.

Andromeda winced as she got to her feet and eyed her family. Bellatrix's face was full of hatred and rage, while Narcissa was on the verge of crying. Her youngest sister looked hurt and upset and was slowly shaking her head in disbelief. She turned her attention to her father.

"Papa…"

Cygnus eyed his daughter then turned his head away. "You are no longer my child."

Walburga kicked Andromeda's wand into the hallway. "Don't ever come back."

Andromeda eyed her family, then nodded her head. "You have my love," she whispered. She limped out into the hallway and retrieved her wand, silently calling a summoning charm to bring her bags downstairs. They flew down with a thud, Andromeda pulling on a warm cloak then grabbing the bags.

Opening the front door, she took one final look at the parlor. The last thing she ever saw inside Number 12 Grimmauld Place was her name being scorched from the Black family tree forever.


	2. 03 Pain

_Hogwarts 1969_

"Ow ow OW!!" Andromeda hissed in pain as she hurried up the staircase out of the dungeon. She held her right hand close to her body, her left grabbing her wrist tightly, as if trying to squeeze out the pain that was erupting from her skin. She glared at the figure keeping up beside her. It was his fault she was in so much pain.

Ted Tonks was quiet as he kept up with Andromeda's quick pace. She hoped it was his guilt that was causing him to go with her to the hospital wing. He pushed a few unsuspecting first years out of the way; Andromeda withholding a snerk. Ted was not a violent person. Even when he pushed the younger students, he somehow managed to do it in a polite form.

Another sharp sting of pain. Andromeda closed her eyes tightly at the pain, tears threatening to spring up. "Ow!! It burns!"

"Acid does that," Ted remarked drying, pushing open a door leading into the next hallway.

Andromeda glared at him once more. "If you had been more careful, you wouldn't have spilt it all over my hands!"

"If you had been reading the instructions, you would have known that the acid didn't go in until later." He shot her a look as she scampered up the staircase to the Hospital wing ahead of him. Ted was right on her heels, continuing to scold. "If a single drop of that acid had hit the potion at this stage… Well, let's just say you're lucky that you only burnt your hand."

Andromeda wheeled on him, her dark eyes narrowing in rage. "I'm LUCKY to have acid burning through my skin?!"

Ted rolled his eyes and grabbed her elbow to pull her up the rest of the staircase. "Yes," he growled back, equaling her glare. "You're lucky that you're not dead."

Andromeda held her tongue and let herself be hurried along by Ted. Her lips remained in an angry frown; part of her mind knew he was right. She had been distracted by gossiping with Madelena; she hadn't been paying attention to her potion. The next thing she knew, Ted was lunging across the table and knocking the flask of acid that she held over her cauldron out of her hand, causing it to splash down onto her skin. Slughorn had instructed Ted to accompany her up to the hospital wing so he could clean up the acid.

Her frown deepened; it had been Slughorn who had, back in third year, instructed Ted to become Andromeda's tutor for Potions. The Muggle born had been hailed by the Professor as a prodigy student; potions somehow came easy to Ted. Andromeda, unfortunately, had never gotten the hang of the subject. Slughorn insisted that Ted help his fellow Ravenclaw student, an act that Andromeda still could not forgive him for. Having to have a tutor was embarrassing enough; being taught by a Mudblood was downright humiliating.

And yet, Andromeda had to admit that she would not have passed third year potions without Ted's help.

The hospital wing doors came into sight. Andromeda silently rejoiced; the pain was becoming unbearable. Ted's grip on her elbow lessened as he pushed the heavy wooden doors open for her and led her inside.

The hospital wing was in pandemonium. Madam Harris was hobbling along as quickly as her old legs could carry her, a stack of bandages in her hand. Hogwarts school nurse for the past fifty years, Madam Harris reminded Andromeda of an old Orangatan; frizzy grey hair that once was orange, hunched shoulders, and drooping skin. The years had caught up to the older woman, yet she was still as crabby and snappy as she was when Andromeda's mother had attended the school. Andromeda's only consolation was that Madam Harris had announced that she was retiring at the end of the year; a young witch from St. Mungos had been spending the year working under the nurse to prepare herself for taking over the next year. Andromeda prayed the new nurse was not as strict.

From the infirmary room, a chorus of moaning and yelling sounded. Madam Harris paused as she saw the newcomers. "What is it?"

"Accident in potions," Ted spoke up. "Acid spilt onto her hands."

"You'll have ta wait," Madam Harris snapped thickly. She nodded her head toward the infirmary. "I've got these lot in here. Three of them playing chicken during quidditch practice, honestly." She turned and continued to hobble toward the sound of moaning.

"Wait!" Ted exclaimed, pointing at Andromeda. "She's in a lot of pain, though!"

"An' who says they aren't?" Madam Harris barked back. Letting out an impatient sigh, she raised her head slightly. "Poppy!"

From the infirmary, a younger woman appeared, a splint and roll of bandages in hand. "What is it?"

Madam Harris jerked her head at Andromeda. "Get them some lionfish spine essence and burn cream, then get back to bandaging McAvoy."

"Of course." The young witch set down the splints and hurried off into the supply room. She emerged several minutes later with a small bowl of green liquid, a small canister, and a gauze roll. She beckoned for the two to follow her, leading them into the infirmary.

The three injured quidditch players were till causing a bit of a riot, Madam Harris doing her best to quickly bandage their broken limbs and quiet their tongues. The young nurse led them to a bed on the far end of the room, setting the bowl on the bedside table then placing the canister and gauze next to it. She pointed at the bowl. "Soak it in that for ten minutes, then rub burn cream onto it generously, then bandage it up. It shouldn't take more than a day or two to heal-"

"Pomfrey!"

The young nurse looked over her shoulder quickly. "I'm coming!" Giving the two an exasperated smile, she quickly turned and headed back to the quidditch player, arriving in time to have one vomit up blood onto her shoes.

Andromeda winced then turned her attention back to her hand. It was throbbing now. She sat down onto the bed as Ted grabbed the bowl of lionsfish spine and sat next to her, placing the bowl on the bed between them. He motioned for Andromeda to stick her hand in it. She was too happy to oblige, reaching down to place her raw skin in the green liquid. As soon as her flesh made contact, her eyes went wide and she recoiled in pain. A screech left her mouth and tears came to her eyes. She pulled her hand back to her chest and slammed her eyes shut to stop the tears that were coming.

"It stings!" she cried.

"It's going to hurt," Ted said sympathetically. She opened her eyes to glare at him with hatred, stopping when she saw the regret on his face. He reached over and gently took her wrist, pulling her hand away from her body. "I know this will hurt a lot, but it will help stop the pain in a little while."

Andromeda eyed him tearfully, but slowly nodded. He lowered her hand slowly into the bowl, a new wave of pain hitting Andromeda. Her eyes squinted shut in pain, a few tears escaping as her let out a high whimper. Her left hand quickly groped the bed beside her and found Ted's hand, grabbing it and squeezing it tightly.

"It's almost over," Ted said quietly. "You're doing fine. Just concentrate on the pain going away."

Andromeda continued to whimper as the liquid jabbed at her skin. It felt as if it was freezing cold, piercing her skin with invisible needles. The minutes seemed to drag on and on as she used all of her will power to not scream out loud. Several more tears fell down her cheeks, Andromeda's lower lip quivering. She felt Ted let go of her wrist then two moments later felt his thumb pressing against her cheek, wiping away her tears. She opened her eyes quickly, meeting his gaze and small smile.

"Is it getting better?" he asked softly.

Andromeda nodded. "It is." Once Ted had touched her face, she had completely forgotten about the pain in her hand. She had been so startled by the action that it had moved to the back of her mind. Now as she looked down at her hand, the pain had subsided incredibly. It still stung slightly, yet felt far better than it had.

Ted pulled away in search of a towel, Andromeda looking over to realize that her other hand was gripping his firmly. Slightly embarrassed and disgusted with herself, she quickly pulled it away. Ted gave no sign of whether or not her noticed, grabbing a towel and turning back to her. She pulled her hand out of the liquid, feeling a sharp pain return to it. She winced as Ted patted her hand dry as gently as he could, placing the bowl back onto the bedside table then grabbing the small canister. Tossing the towel aside, her opened it to reveal an orange paste.

Andromeda sniffed then made a disgusted face. "Eww, that smells like rotten oranges."

Ted smirked and dug a small amount of it out onto his fingers. "Nonsense. Oranges are acidic; they wouldn't use that on a burn."

Andromeda rolled her eyes. "Why do you have to be such a know-it-all all of the time?"

"It's what I do best," he said with a smile, taking her wrist and pulling her hand toward him. He smeared the orange paste onto her hand, earning yet another loud wince from Andromeda.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he began rubbing it across her skin.

Andromeda eyed him in agitation, but soon let it go. The paste felt good on her hand; Ted was being careful to be very gentle as he spread it over her burn.

At length, he spoke up again. "I'm sorry."

"You already apologized for the paste," she noted in annoyance.

"No, I mean for this whole thing. I didn't mean for it to burn you. I just didn't want to watch you get hurt."

Andromeda cocked her head at him and raised an eyebrow. "Really? So your brilliant plan to avoid me getting hurt was to spill acid on me. Bravo."

Ted's eyebrows knit in anger; Andromeda waited in anticipation of him yelling back at her. However, a moment passed and his face calmed again, a small smile escaping his lips. "I know, right? Genius."

Andromeda chuckled earnestly at that. She did not deny that she loved fighting with Ted; watching him get mad gave her some satisfaction, seeing as she had been unwillingly stuck with the Muggle born. However, she had also begun to enjoy his good humor. Both was a win-win situation for her, really.

Ted got more paste and continued rubbing it onto her hand. Andromeda watched him concentrate. He was very peaceful as he worked, concentrating on her hand and delicately massaging the paste into her skin.

"So what would have happened had I put the acid into my potion?" Andromeda asked out of curiosity.

Ted paused for a moment, resuming his work with a steady voice. "The potion wasn't stable yet. You hadn't added your lacewing flies yet; actually, you missed that step completely," he said with a scolding tone.

Andromeda raised an eyebrow. "You were paying that close attention to me?"

Ted shifted uncomfortably for a moment. "I was just making sure you were doing it right. I'm supposed to be teaching you potions; I was just checking up on your progress."

"Right," Andromeda said with a smirk.

Ted shrugged sheepishly, lowering his eyes back to her hand. "Had you dumped the acid in, it would have caused the potion to boil out and explode, dumping an even more acidic liquid all over your body." His voice was quiet as he recovered the canister and set it aside, taking the gauze and beginning to wrap her hand.

Andromeda remained quiet for a moment. "Would it have killed me?"

Ted paused again. "It depends; you would have been severely burned, and if it had gotten into your eyes…" He finished bandaging her hand then gave it a gentle pat before looking up at her. "Just follow the directions next time, will you Miss Black?"

"You know I don't take orders from Muggle borns," Andromeda shot back. Ted looked at her blankly, blocking any emotion from showing. Andromeda finally gave a smile, showing him that she was teasing. He finally let a smile crack over his own lips.

"I know," he said softly. His voice grew stern and he sat up straighter. "But if you actually want to pass Potions this year, you're going to have to."

Andromeda rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't let me fail," she jabbed. She gave him a smile then looked down at her hand, her voice growing soft. "You've never failed me." She gave an embarrassed smile and mumbled "thank you, Ted."

"Any time, Andromeda."


	3. 42 Fall

_Fall – 1965_

"Andromeda, hold still."

Andromeda Black hopped back and forth from foot to foot with a wide grin on her face. They would be heading to London in a few short minutes; her heart began to race with anticipation. She loved the Fall more than any other season, but this year it was different.

This year, she got to go to Hogwarts.

Her older sister had come home for Christmas during her first year talking non-stop about the school and what adventures she and her new friends had gotten into. Andromeda could not wait. She was very crushed to learn that she would have to wait three years before she could join her sister, as her birthday was not early enough to make her eleven before the school term started. Andromeda had cried, but Narcissa had been happy that the two of them would have an extra year at school together.

The three years had gone by quickly and Andromeda, proud that she had already been eleven for so much longer than most of the other children, could not wait.

Her mother finished setting two small clips in her hair, holding back Andromeda's long brown hair so that it fashionably showed off her face. Andromeda had heard her mother mumble something about "looking better than those filthy mudblood," but she could have cared less. She was going to be at Hogwarts by the end of the day.

Bellatrix looked almost bored as she sat on the edge of her bed, eyeing her nails critically. Narcissa was sitting up against the headboard, her arms around her legs and a sniffle escaping her lips.

"Oh for heaven's sake," Bellatrix snapped at her youngest sister. "Don't start crying again."

"Mind your tone, Bellatrix," Druella Black reprimanded. She finished Andromeda's hair, patting her shoulder lightly. "There; all done."

Andromeda began bouncing around the room with glee. "Will you write to me, mommy?"

"If I can find time and if your father isn't bothering me," she said with a half-humorous scowl.

"Will I be in Slytherin just like you and daddy were?"

Druella eyed her daughter sharply, a small smile crossing her face. "You better."

Bellatrix blew out a scoff and hopped off the bed. "Yeah right. We all know that losers end up in Hufflepuff."

Druella rolled her eyes. "Bellatrix, at least try and be nice to your sister, won't you?"

Bellatrix shrugged and glided out of the room. "I'm just saying," she said innocently as she passed, noting with wicked satisfaction that Andromeda had stopped her bouncing.

A large car soon pulled up to take them to London, the House Elves shuffling off to get the luggage into the trunk. Druella fastened a coat onto Narcissa then gathered her two other daughters and herded them off into the car. Cygnus Black emerged from his study to kiss his daughters goodbye, then the car quickly sped off.

Andromeda sat in silence for most of the ride. What if she wasn't sorted into Slytherin? In the history of her family, there had been only two Black who were not in Slytherin. Ironically enough, those two had been burned off of Aunt Walburga's family tapestry. While she thought it ridiculous to sever bounds with relatives because of which house they were sorted into at Hogwarts, at the back of her mind she prayed dearly that she would not follow suit.

They arrived to London sooner than she had hoped. Her mother remained tight-lipped as they weaved through a large crowd of muggles, the driver pushing the trolley with the two trunks behind them. They passed through the barrier and emerged before the scarlet engine. Andromeda's bubble of joy slowly began to reemerge. She was going to Hogwarts; everything would be all right.

The train was crowded and noisy. She sat with Bellatrix and her friends, who ignored her for most of the voyage. All they did was gossip and talk about other girls and what mean hexes they planned to use on them this year.

Nervousness began to replace happiness when Bellatrix told her that they needed to change into their school clothes. She shakily pulled on her black student sweater, wondering exactly how exactly they got sorted. She followed the group of first years to the docks, watching in awe as they climbed into boats and watched the castle come into view.

Before she knew it, they were at a giant oak door. An older man with a long graying beard greeted them. "Welcome new students. I am Professor Dumbledore. In a moment, I'll be leading you into the Great Hall where you will be sorted into your Houses. Your house will be your family for the next seven years. Your accomplishments will reward your house, but I am afraid that any rule breaking will punish it." He smiled broadly behind half-moon spectacles, his eyes twinkling. Andromeda managed to twitch out a smile. He seemed nice.

"There are four houses at Hogwarts. Each are different but alike in many ways. There is no house that is stronger than another; each will help you learn and accomplish great things. They are as followed: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."

Fear crept back into Andromeda's mind as he mentioned her family's house.

Professor Dumbledore smiled broadly. "Now then, let's go in, shall we? After the sorting, Headmaster Dippet will say a few words and then we shall eat a delicious feast. I don't know about you, but I am rather fond of the pudding. It is quite delicious." He turned and headed to the doorway, throwing the doors open.

Andromeda squared her shoulder and held her head high as she followed the group into the Great Hall. She tried to hide her amazement as the sight of the magical ceiling met her eyes. Bellatrix had tried to explain it to her when she had begun her first year, but even then Andromeda had not fully comprehended the sheer beauty and wonder of it.

Above the free-hanging candles, several light clouds rolled across a deep blue sky. The stars twinkled around them and a few small meteorites chased down the length of the hall. Andromeda could hear the other new students gasping and whispering between themselves in amazement. She had wanted to act indifferent, yet against her will her mouth opened slightly and a small gasp of awe left her lips.

A student behind her accidentally bumped into her, clearing Andromeda's thoughts of the sky. She turned around to glare at him, seeing a sandy-haired boy stare at her with wide eyes. "Sorry," he mumbled. She blinked quickly and turned her gaze to the hall around her. The returning students were either chatting amongst themselves or eyeing the new group of students. She spotted the colored banners hanging over the tables, scanning them quickly to find the familiar green and silver serpent.

She spotted the banner hanging over the far table. Looking down the row of students, her eyes finally locked on her older sister. Bellatrix was flirting with two of the boys next to her, a wicked smile curled on her lip. Her eyes shifted from the boys to the new students, finding her sister's gaze. Bellatrix raised her eyebrows slightly and gave a small grin. Without taking her eyes off of her sister, she turned her head to the boys next to her then nodding her head at her sister after a few words. Andromeda felt her cheeks grow warm as the two boys turned their attention to her, one of them giving her a pleased smile.

Professor Dumbledore halted them at the front of the hall, motioning for them to fan out in front of a stool with an old hat on it. Andromeda let out a small gasp as eyes and a mouth seemed to appear in the brim of the hat. It began to sing; a long poem describing the four houses, the Hogwarts founders, and about love and friendship. Once it finished, Dumbledore stepped up onto the small stage and pulled a scroll out of his sleeve. "We shall now begin the sorting. When I call your name, come up and sit on the stool. I shall put the Sorting Hat on your head, and you shall be sorted into your house."

_Slytherin; that's easy enough_, Andromeda thought to herself, trying to sound confident in her own mind.

"Margaret Abbot."

Andromeda watched with slight apprehension as a chubby blonde girl stepped up nervously onto the stage and sat down. Dumbeldore set the hat onto her head, which seemed to come alive at the touch.

"Hufflepuff!"

A loud cheer rang forth from the Hufflepuff table. Dumbledore removed the hat and Margaret hopped off, heading toward her House table.

"Stephen Ackerly."

Andromeda turned her head to eye her sister once more. Bellatrix was chatting with a girl seated across from her, paying her sister no mind. Biting her lower lip, Andromeda turned her head back to watch the sorting.

"Gryffindor!"

After the cheering died down and Stephen had joined his house, Dumbledore moved on. "William Atherton."

Andromeda drew in a breath as she grew more anxious. She knew she had to be next, or at the very least, soon.

"Slytherin!"

A cheer went up from the Slytherin table, Andromeda turning her head back once more to see that her sister had not even stopped her conversation with her friend.

"Andromeda Black."

Andromeda's head snapped back. Letting out her held breath, she stepped up onto the stage, seating herself on the stool. Bellatrix still was not watching. The hat was lowered onto her head, and Andromeda heard an elderly voice hit her ear.

"Aha. Another Black. History tells me I know where to sort you, yet something's not right."

_What do you mean?_ Andromeda thought. _I belong in Slytherin_.

The hat chuckled. "'Belong in Slytherin,' you say? Yes, you would do great in there. Like the rest of your family, there is much skill and power in you. But which House would benefit you the most?"

Andromeda tried to check her growing annoyance. _Slytherin!_

The hat paused, humming to itself as it thought. "In that case… Ravenclaw!"

Andromeda froze in her seat. The students at the Ravenclaw table began cheering loudly, yet Andromeda's face paled. She eyed her sister. Bellatrix's head had snapped to the sorting once the words were uttered. She too carried a look of disbelief on her face.

Andromeda felt Dumbledore's hand gently pat her shoulder. "Congratulations, my dear. Go join you house."

Andromeda did not move. She eyed the Professor, pleading quietly, "Please. Please, there's been a mistake."

Dumbledore smiled gently. "A mistake? I'm afraid the hat has spoken, my dear."

"But it's wrong!" Andromeda protested, feeling her head begin to spin. "It has to be! I'm supposed to be in Slytherin!"

"We are not the choosers of our destiny, Miss Black," the elder man said sternly. "The Sorting Hat saw something in you that made it believe you belong in the house of Ravenclaw."

"But I don't!" Andromeda was near tears by now. She eyed her sister desperately, then glanced back at the professors around her. "I have to be in Slytherin!"

"We cannot change it," Dumbledore whispered sadly, grabbing her arm gently but tightly enough to lift her off of the stool.

"Don't tell me that!" Andromeda snarled, yanking her arm away from his grasp. "You _can_ change it! There must be a way!" When Dumbledore answered no more, Andromeda eyed the rest of the staff with teary eyes. Seeing no response, she quickly ran off the stage and left the Great Hall in tears.

She did not know where to go, so she simply ran the way they came in. She could hear someone running after her, increasing her speed to outrun them. She finally came to the large oak doors, pulling on the handle with all of her might.

"Meda, wait!" She recognized the voice as Bellatrix's, pulling once again on the door. Seeing as it would not budge, she turned her back against the door and slid to the ground, pulling her knees in tightly and crying into her stomach.

She felt Bellatrix touch her arm, looking up with tearful eyes at her sister. "They can't put me in Ravenclaw, Bella! Mother will kick me out of the family."

"Nonsense," Bellatrix snorted. "The worst that will happen is you'll get left out of the will."

Andromeda knew her sister was trying to make her laugh, yet it did not help. She sniffled and wiped her face on her sleeve. "Stupid, stubborn old man! They can change it easily." She eyed her sister for reassurance. "Can't they?"

Bellatrix's eyes did not meet hers. Andromeda lowered her head once more and continued crying.

She hated the Fall.


	4. 29 Home

_Christmas 1972_

The snow outside continued to fall in an endless stream of white. It had covered the entire yard, the trees and hedge, and had begun its work in freezing the pond in the back. The only thing that remained untouched was the car parked in the driveway. It seemed as if every snowflake simply bounced off, leaving the metal pristine and dry.

Andromeda Tonks smiled as she looked at the window to the car. Her repellant charm was still a mystery to their Muggle neighbors, who never ceased to be amazed that Ted never had to scrape ice off of his windshield.

Snowflakes danced across the window playfully, swaying in the winter breeze. A slight chill ran down Andromeda's arms, shivering slightly then retreating from the window toward the fireplace.

The house was dark minus the flame in the fireplace. Stacks of boxes sat against the wall, several halfway opened and others still sealed and marked. The walls were still bare, a score of portraits lining the floor waiting to be hung. Next to the window, a small Christmas tree sat atop a set of boxes. The tree only had a small collection of tinsel and a few small knick-knacks put in to give it meaning.

Andromeda eased her way down onto a cushion set before the fireplace, keeping on hand on her slightly inflated stomach. She finally achieved sitting, letting out a sigh and rubbing her stomach.

The last six months had been taxing on both her and Ted. After their marriage in March, she and Ted had been living off of means ends; their dingy flat in London was nothing more than a room with a mattress on the floor. A fireplace had been magically created to allow easier access to Andromeda's job. Ted had left his job at the potion shop in Diagon Alley to try and find a better earning career at one of the more prestigious wizarding research centers, leaving Andromeda as the sole bread winner of the family. Ted's parents had helped with what they could, but things just seemed to be getting worse.

And then Andromeda had become pregnant.

The two had despaired that they could not afford to care for a child; they could barely support themselves as it was. Ted's job search was going horribly and Andromeda was falling behind on the housework. Even with magic, it became more and more taxing to try and do everything at once.

Andromeda had become desperate. She had not spoken to her family since she left them the previous Christmas; testing the waters, she sent a letter to her sisters and father telling them the news of her child. She had received a return letter from Bellatrix with a small vial of poison with a note attached asking her to "do us all a favor."

However, things began to turn up. Sirius had gotten wind of the pregnancy and one day in late October had popped out of her fireplace. Andromeda had been furious and amazed to learn that he had gone to Professor Slughorn and asked if he could use the Professor's fireplace to use the Floo network to come speak to his cousin. As Ted was still one of Slughorns more favorite students, the potions master had agreed.

Andromeda had enjoyed the evening with her younger cousin; she told him of their troubles and began crying as she showed him Bellatrix's note. He did his best to comfort his cousin, but quickly sent him back to Hogwarts as the hours grew late.

From there, things got better at a miraculous rate. Professor Slughorn, apparently heartily moved upon hearing about two of his former students woes, spoke to one of his old friends at St. Mungo's division of Potion and Remedy Making and got Ted a job within two weeks. Words could not express how thrilled the couple was at Ted having a secure job that paid quite well.

However, Sirius' persuasion did not seem to stop there. In late-November, on Andromeda's 19th birthday, Andromeda was shocked to find Uncle Alphard standing at their door, paying a surprise visit. She was overly embarrassed of the state of their living, but her uncle did not seem to mind. He stayed talking with Andromeda until Ted returned home from work. Then, the couple received the biggest shock of all.

Alphard grinned from ear to ear as he announced that he had brought Andromeda a birthday gift. Without any delay, he had dropped a set of keys onto the table. "I don't use the place anymore; I'm afraid my heart has long left the rural life. It needs a new keeper and a good scrubbing, if you ask me."

It had taken Andromeda several minutes before she fully comprehended that he meant his summer home in Abbotstone. She and Ted pleaded to let them repay him in some kind, yet Alphard had refused. "Just don't expect a big Christmas gift out of me," he had said with a wink.

Andromeda smiled at the memory as she looked around the dark house. Unlike the rest of her families homes, Alphard had kept this one remarkably bare. The couple had only begun moving in three weeks before, Andromeda taking a week off of work to begin tackling the cleaning. Thankfully, Ted's parents had helped. The Tonks decided to spend the holidays at the couple's new house; Mrs. Tonks helping Andromeda get the place looking decent again. As they were now in the country and the house a good distance from the neighbors, Andromeda and Ted had been able to finally use magic to help ease the burden of making the place presentable.

Christmas had come up quicker than they could imagine. While most everything was still unpacked, Andromeda had done what she could to decorate for the holidays. The tree was a very poor recreation of a nice tree; the few decorations on it had just been tossed on at the last second. No gifts sat under it; what money they had they were spending on necessities or saving up for the baby. Andromeda didn't mind; the house was enough of a gift to cover one hundred Christmases.

She felt her stomach give a kick, looking down and rubbing it once more. The baby had not settled down all evening, keeping Andromeda awake on what she thought was one of the coldest and snowiest Christmas Eves she could remember. However, she did not mind. The fire crackling in the hearth was welcoming and warm. She was in her own home with the man she loved and their new child on the way. She would not be listening to her aunt and uncle's raving about muggles and muggle borns or listening to her older sister brag about her accomplishments.

It was going to be the best Christmas she could ever remember.

"Are you still up?"

Ted's tired voice drifted from the doorway. Andromeda looked up and smiled as her husband shuffled over to the fireplace with her. "This little nymph won't give me a rest. It's as if he knows it's Christmas."

Ted gave a small laugh as he sat down behind his wife, letting her lean back against him. "Perhaps she knows that, were she out of there, she'd be getting presents."

"_He_," she corrected with smile. She looked down at her stomach once more, tracing her hand over the curve. "Perhaps it's better that this isn't his first Christmas. We have no money to spend on gifts."

"She'd be too young to appreciate them anyway," Ted replied as he kissed the top of Andromeda's head. He rested his cheek on her head, letting the room fall quiet save for the crackling of the fire. He reached his arms around his wife, letting one hold her to him then placing the other on her stomach, rubbing gently over the skin that held his child.

"I'm sorry you can't go home for Christmas," he murmured quietly. Andromeda sat up and turned to face him, a look of astonishment on her face.

"Why?" she half-laughed.

"Because despite the fact that they are, forgive me, pompous asses, you do miss home."

Andromeda continued to stare, then slowly let out a small laugh. She leaned toward her husband and pulled him into a kiss, resting her forehead against his when she had pulled away.

"Ted, you silly nit," she whispered in a laugh. "I am home."


	5. 11 Death

The end of Andromeda's fourth year at Hogwarts was proving to be a good one. She was doing exceptionally well in most of her classes – Potions, of course, being her greatest weakness. Bellatrix would be graduating soon; Andromeda was surprised at how much relief she felt at this event. She loved her older sister dearly, but could not wait to be free of her criticizing eyes.

What was more, Bellatrix had already started making plans to move out. She and Rodolphus Lestrange never seemed to leave each others sides; Andromeda was not overly fond of him or his annoying younger brother, Rabastan. Whether by Bellatrix' orders or his own pleasure, the younger Lestrange seemed to enjoy going out of his way to bully Ted Tonks. Andromeda had tried to talk to Bellatrix about it, but the eldest Black daughter had indifferently mentioned that she didn't know what Andromeda was talking about.

Without his older brother, Andromeda hoped that Rabastan would lose some of his nerve. That or that the Ravenclaw quidditch team would hospitalize him in the first match of the year.

Ted was something different. Hard as she tried not to, she had become a little fond of her Potions tutor. She at least didn't try to make his life miserable anymore. Still, he was rather sweet when he wanted to be, even if he was obnoxiously smart at times.

The Great Hall was loud with chatter and the clanging of dishes; normal for dinner time. Andromeda sat squished between two of her roommates, gossiping about their plans for the summer. Jana Vladekova was a tall thin girl with short brown curls and fashionable glasses. She and her family had lived in Czechoslovakia until she was eight, but fled to England for the children's education. Her English was fine, but Andromeda still could not help but love her heavy accent.

Mary Kent was quieter than her roommates, but still became quite animated in conversation. She was very small with strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes, excitement lighting her face as she spoke of her joy that Jana would be visiting her in Dublin.

Andromeda half-listened to her friends chatter on, letting her eyes wander down the table. Ted was sitting with his friend Colin, the two of them discussing Quidditch, it looked like. Their voices were low but their large gestures full of turning and swooping, leaving no doubt as to what their conversation was about.

He caught Andromeda's eye, looking a bit started that she had been staring then recovering quickly. He tapped his watch meaningfully then returned to his conversation. Andromeda looked down at her own. They had potions tutoring in one hour. It gave her enough time to finish dinner, go back to her room, change into more comfortable clothes, then start her potions homework before Ted joined her in the common room. Plenty of time.

Professor Ross came floating down the aisle, stopping behind Andromeda. The Head of Ravenclaw House, she was an elderly witch with short white hair and a calm smile. Her Astronomy class was one of Andromeda's favorite, and Andromeda liked her very much. "Miss Black, can you please come with me? The Headmaster needs to see you. Miss Kent, would you be so kind as to take Andromeda's bag back to your room with you, please?"

Andromeda frowned. As far as she knew, she had not done anything wrong. She exchanged a glance between Jana and Mary then rose from her seat, catching from the corner of her eye that Ted was eyeing her with curiosity as well. She followed Professor Ross toward the exit, a chill going down her spine as she noticed that Professor Slughorn was collecting both Bellatrix and Narcissa over at the Slytherin table.

Something was wrong.

Ross and Andromeda waited outside the doors for Slughorn and the two other Black sisters. Neither spoke as they lead the girls towards the headmasters office. Andromeda and Bellatrix exchanged glances with worry. Narcissa, however, was not able to hold back her questions. "What's going on? Are we in trouble?"

"None of you are in trouble, Miss Black," Slughorn answered with a grave voice. "The Headmaster needs to speak to you all. I'm afraid he has some terrible news."

Andromeda froze for a moment, feeling Professor Ross lay a hand on her arm to help her continue forward. Though she did not know what news was waiting for them, a cold sensation began emerging in her stomach.

Slughorn quietly spoke the password to get by the gargoyle, the five walking up the stairs quietly. Slughorn led them into the room when Headmaster Dippet was sitting quietly behind his desk, his face grave. He stood to meet them, quickly summoning up three chairs in front of his desk. "Welcome ladies. Please, have a seat."

Narcissa promptly sat down in the middle, her elder sisters taking a seat on either side of them. They remained silent, even Narcissa keeping her questions to herself.

Dippet did not return to his seat. Instead, her picked up a letter on his desk. "I received a letter from your father this evening. He had terrible news that he asked me to deliver." He paused, eyeing their faces with remorse. "I am sorry that there is no easy way to say this, but your mother has passed away."

Andromeda felt her heart stop, a shudder passing through her. Beside her, Narcissa burst into tears, turning and burying her face into Bellatrix shoulder. Bellatrix continued to stare straight ahead as she wrapped an arm around her sister, her cheeks pulled taunt and her lips pressed thin. She held her hand out to Dippet, the Headmaster handing her the letter. She read it slowly and silently, her eyes narrowing then clouding over as she finished. She then handed the letter to Andromeda.

With a shaking hand, Andromeda read over the letter.

_To Armando Dippet, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_My dear sir, I must ask a favor of you. Not two hours ago, one of our house elfs discovered the body of my wife, Druella Black, lying dead in our parlor. They summoned me from work and I swiftly returned home, alerting St. Mungos as well. They confirmed that she had passed and nothing more could be done. Do not be alarmed, dear sir; she was not murdered. The cause is not yet completely known, though I suppose the empty vial in her hand gives one a clear enough guess._

_I am sorry to pass the burden onto you, but please let our daughters know of her death. As the school year is drawing to a close, I do not want them to miss their last lessons. It is much to ask, but I beseech that you exempt them from their final exams if possible. One can only imagine how hard it must be on a young woman to think of tests when her mother has passed._

_I do not wish the girls to return home until the school year has ended; let them remain with their friends to be consoled. It is selfish of me, I know, but I must also have some time for my own grief as well._

_Please let me know if my request is acceptable, and I thank you once more for taking on a burden I myself should have carried._

_Yours, Cygnus Black_

Andromeda finished the letter, setting it lightly on Dippet's desk.

"You will of course be exempt from the end of the year exams. I will speak with the remaining staff and tell them to not be alarmed if you do not feel well enough to attend the last few weeks of classes."

"I want to take my exams," Andromeda mumbled softly.

Headmaster Dippet smiled softly. "My dear, there is no need to feel guilty about missing them…"

"But I want to," Andromeda mumbled, meeting his eye. "It will give me something to do."

Dippet thought for a moment then nodded his head. "If that is your wish. We can discuss this closer to exams." He turned to Bellatrix. "We can of course reschedule your N.E.W.T examinations-"

"I'll take them," Bellatrix said evenly. "I am well enough prepared."

Narcissa's sobs had subsided into sniffles and soft cries. "I want to go home," she moaned.

"Father wants us to remain her," Bellatrix said crisply, a touch of harshness in her voice.

"But I want to go!"

"We'll be home in a few weeks, Cissa. Father needs time to himself." The resentment in her voice was not well concealed.

Andromeda looked down at her lap. Her eyes stung, yet no tears seemed to come. She felt numb; her mother had killed herself. As she had gotten older, she had begun to see more clearly how unhappy and bitter their mother really was. She especially had a dislike for their father. Bellatrix had reminded her once that their parents had been forced to marry when Cygnus was only twelve years old; their mother was much older and had resented every day they had lived together. Yet both had masked it well in her childhood; or had she just never noticed?

She felt Professor Ross's hand on her shoulder, giving her professor a weak smile of thanks before returning her eyes to her lap.

It was several hours later before they left Dippet's office, Narcissa still clinging to her older sister's frame as Slughorn led them off to the Slytherin dungeons. Professor Ross walked silently with Andromeda back to the common room entrance, then excused herself to return to her office.

Andromeda wearily pushed open the hidden door leading to the Ravenclaw common room. Her legs felt as if they would give out at any moment. Her movements did not seem to come from her own will; it was as if someone else was controlling her body. She pushed the door closed behind her, hearing an agitated sigh come from one of the armchairs.

"It's about time you showed up."

Her eyes blankly focused on the voice. Ted was sprawled sideways in a large armchair, a heavy potions book in his lap. An agitated scowl was set upon his face. Closing the book, he swung his legs over the arm of the chair and got to his feet, shaking the book at her as he crossed the room toward her.

"We were supposed to begin hours ago! I'm supposed to be tutoring you to help you pass potions! How am I supposed to do that unless you're actually here to be tutored?" He stopped across from her, tossing the book down onto a sofa then crossing his arms across his chest. He eyed her evenly, waiting for an excuse. "Well?"

Andromeda opened her mouth to speak, yet her throat constricted. Her eyes began to sting; her vision blurring slightly. All of the emotions she seemed unable to feel in Dippet's office suddenly bubbled through her body. "Ted," she managed to push out in a croaked whisper.

"What?" The anger was still evident in his voice, his eyes narrowing as he glared at her. Andromeda's lower lip began to wobble, her mouth turning out in the beginnings of a sob. Ted's brows lifted at her expression, changing to one of worry and shock. "Andromeda, what…"

Before he could finish, Andromeda threw her arms around his chest, burying her face into his shirt. A loud sob tore from her lips as the tears finally emerged, pouring down her cheeks in large hot drops. She felt her legs give in, stopping from falling only when Ted's arms wrapped around her back in support.

Her entire body was shaking. She could feel Ted straining to hold her up, letting him lead her slowly back toward the sofa. Quickly repositioning his arms, he pulled her legs up under his arm as he sat on the sofa, resting her in his lap and letting her cry into the crook of his neck. Andromeda had never been this close to him before. Through his now tear-soaked shirt, she could feel his heart beating quickly beneath his chest.

He didn't speak; just held her as she cried and gently stroked her hair. She knew she must have been making a spectacle of herself; throwing herself at her Mudblood tutor like that, but she put it to the back of her mind. Muggleborn he may be, he was the only one there comforting her. It was more than her own sisters had done.

Her tears finally ebbed, Andromeda still shaking lightly as she sniffled back the last. A few dry sobs still whimpered from her mouth, but they soon subsided. Ted's hands were still stroking her hair gently. Once all her tears and sobs had fled, she remained where she was, closing her eyes tightly.

"Are you all right?" Ted's voice was low. Andromeda nodded her head slightly.

"What happened with Ross? Do you want to talk about it?"

It truthfully was the last thing Andromeda wanted to talk about, but she knew she had to get it over with sooner or later. At her pause, Ted continued. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

"My mother's dead," Andromeda whispered into his chest. She wasn't sure if he heard it or not. "She… she killed herself." She felt her eyes sting once more, squeezing them shut even more. She felt his strong arms pull her in tighter, holding her close to his chest. The impact of her own words seemed to lift the last emotional barrier her mind held. She began crying once more, letting the tears come again. They were slower this time, her body shaking with a quiet sob every now and then. Like before, they slowly began to ebb, finding herself relaxed in his embrace. She nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent with each breath she took. He smelled of pumpkin juice and an odd acrid potion.

Realization of whose laps she was in finally sank in. Andromeda pushed herself off of him and ungracefully fell onto the sofa beside him. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, wiping her eyes and trying to regain her composure. "I've made such a spectacle of myself."

"Don't worry about it," Ted said with a sad smile. He eyed her intently. "Is there anything I can do?"

"No," Andromeda said hurriedly, standing on shaky legs and collecting the potions book Ted had dropped. "No, I'm fine." She tried to regain her snobbish composure once more, standing up straight. "We'll push this until tomorrow." She crossed the room to the staircase that lead to the girls dormitory. "I trust you'll keep this to yourself," she said in a low hurried growl, heading up the stairs before he could reply.

She closed the door to her room quickly behind her, pressing her back against the wood. The other girls were already asleep, their curtains pulled tightly around their beds. Andromeda let out a small sigh as she sank to the floor, holding the book tightly to her chest. She could smell its musty pages, yet a small waft of pumpkin came from it as well.

Andromeda pushed the book to the floor in disgust. If there was one thing she didn't need right now, it was to be daydreaming of boys.

Especially a Mudblood named Ted Tonks.


	6. 43 Redo

I realize Narcissa is a bit OOC in this. I apologize.

* * *

Diagon Alley had seen better days. The aftermath of the war against Voldemort had certainly left its mark on the row of shops and businesses. While many shops were still closed, those that had resumed business was still rather tattered; bewitched tools were working nonstop to repair the buildings and streets.

One, thing, however, had changed; the atmosphere. While caution was still present, it was as if a blanket of relief had spread over everyone present. Voldemort was dead; hi s death eaters were imprisoned or still on the run. Harry Potter's face still shone out from every news article plastered to windows, allowing room for one or two photos of the new Minister of Magic.

Andromeda had always liked Shaklebolt. He was a sensible man who did his job well and was loyal to a tee. His calm nature had helped rebuild the Wizarding World, assuring all that peace and normality were well on the way.

Andromeda watched as a mother and daughter walked quickly down the street, the young girl's arms loaded with books and robes. A small smile curled up onto Andromeda's lips. Hogwarts would be resuming soon. The school, like Diagon Alley, was still in the process of being rebuilt. However, Headmistress McGonagall had assured everyone that the school was quite safe and still functional to teach all the new students as if nothing had changed.

Yet everything had changed. Andromeda stirred her tea absentmindedly as she watched the mother and daughter. She clearly remembered bringing Nymphadora shopping for her first year of Hogwarts. Dora, bursting with excitement, had been practically bounding down the streets, dragging her parents from shop to shop with a wild grin.

Dora.

Ted.

Andromeda looked down at her cup, pushing back the sinking feeling that was all too familiar with her now. It had been nearly seven months since she had learned of her husband's death, yet it still hurt as it had the first day. Dora's following death made it twice as hard. If it was not for little Teddy, Andromeda was sure that she would have arranged to be with her husband and daughter by now.

Harry helped as well. The boy – young man, Andromeda corrected herself – visited his godson often. He would spend hours at her home; learning all the proper ways to warm milk, feed and change Teddy, acting as a surrogate father for her grandson. They spent much time talking; Andromeda would tell him old stories about Sirius as a child, and shenanigans that Dora got up to in school. He never said it, but Andromeda could tell that he was trying to take care of her as well.

Movement in the street caught her attention, Andromeda raising her head to see if her guest had finally arrived. When she had gotten the message by owl the week before, she surely thought it was a joke. After performing every anti-hex spell she knew, she had opened the letter to find a note asking to meet her at one of the Diagon Alley cafes. Part of her mind told her it was a trick. She toyed with the idea of not coming. What good would it serve.

However, on a bright Wednesday morning, Andromeda left Teddy with Harry then went to Diagon Alley anyways.

Her guest and a young man stood in the street, eyeing her. The woman spoke softly to the young man, who shrugged then headed off toward Madam Malkin's. The other hesitated for a moment before slowly making her way toward Andromeda. She did her best to hide her apprehension and mixed emotions, yet her nervousness was apparent. She sat down opposite Andromeda, setting her latched purse on the table.

"Andromeda," she greeted.

"Narcissa."

A silence fell over the sisters for a moment. Narcissa looked as if she had many things she wanted to say yet could not choose where to start. She finally chose, "I see you got my note."

"Obviously."

"I'm – I'm glad you came."

Andromeda didn't know how to respond. Her sister had not spoken to her in close to thirty years. They had been so close when they were younger, but once Andromeda had left, that was it.

Narcissa looked as uncomfortable as Andromeda felt. She did not know how to react to seeing her younger sister again. She felt hurt, as Narcissa had chosen to not communicate for thirty years. She was angry, for Narcissa had chosen to follow Voldemort and therefore was associated with the people who had killed her husband and daughter.

Yet Narcissa had always blindly followed Bellatrix. It seemed a week argument, yet it still held true. And she had saved Harry's life. She had been faced with imprisonment as well during the Death Eater trials, yet Harry had granted her and her son Draco a pardon. News of this had caused some controversy, yet Harry was still too much of an idol for it to discredit him at the moment.

And Narcissa had been the one to send the note asking for them to meet. She had taken the first steps forward of offering the olive branch. Andromeda considered this in her judgment. Had Narcissa come to gloat or torment her, she would not have looked so nervous. Nor would she have done it in public, for that matter. As far as she could tell, Narcissa was in earnest.

Andromeda broke the silence with a small smile. "You look good, Cissa."

Narcissa looked slightly startled, but upon seeing her sister's sincere smile, she relaxed slightly, letting a small one of her own take her face. "You do too." She lowered her eyes slightly, looking almost ashamed. "I'm sorry I haven't written. I know it's been a long time-"

"Nearly thirty years," Andromeda bit out.

Narcissa looked guilty, then nodded. "A really long time." She looked up quickly at her sister, a bewildered look in her eye.

Her voice was lower when she spoke again. "Andromeda, I am so sorry."

"For what?"

"Everything! For not speaking to you until now. For actually listening to Bella and Aunt Walburga… for my part in what happened."

"I don't blame you, Narcissa," Andromeda said softly, stirring her tea.

"You should. I helped, Meda."

Andromeda set down her tea and took her sister's hand. It felt oddly comfortable; as if it belonged there all along but had been missing for years. Narcissa looked slightly startled and then even a bit scared as Andromeda looked her in the eyes. "Cissa, I don't blame you. Bellatrix killed my daughter; not you. I don't know who is responsible for Ted, but-"

Andromeda's voice faltered. The wild look that had spread into Narcissa's eye at the mention of Ted frightened her. She hadn't considered that perhaps Narcissa had infact been the one to kill her husband.

Narcissa seemed to sense this, shaking her head slightly. "No; it wasn't me. I – I never killed anyone. Not to say there isn't blood on my hands, but…" She looked away for a moment, then back at her sister. "Do – do you want me to tell you who it was?"

Andromeda's throat tightened. As much as she had longed to know who to blame for her husband's death, she wasn't sure if any good would come of it now. However, she nodded her head anyway.

Narcissa paused, then lowered her eyes once more. "Rodolphus. He and Rabastan were on patrol when they found him."

The news that Bellatrix's husband had done the deed did not surprise Andromeda much, yet she felt an odd sense of hatred and pleasure at the thought. Rodolphus lay as dead as his wife; at least there was some small justice in that.

"Thank you," Andromeda said quietly.

Narcissa squeezed her sister's hand. "I can't imagine what you're going through, Dora. The thought of losing a husband and your child…" Her voice trailed off as she turned her head in the direction of Madam Malkin's.

Andromeda gave a small smile. "Draco, huh?"

Narcissa gave a small little blush as she eyed her sister once more. "Lucius' father insisted."

"How is Lucius?"

"He's doing as well as can be expected." Narcissa began beaming as the conversation turned to her husband. "Thank goodness the dementors aren't at Azkaban anymore; I don't know if I could bear to see him under their watch."

"I hear his sentence got reduced."

Narcissa gave a small snort then nodded. "Yes. From life to five years. It's still a long time, but I'll take it." She gave an ironic laugh. "Who knew that saving Potter's life would be so helpful?"

"Why Madam Malkin's? Shouldn't he be done with Hogwarts by now?"

Narcissa beamed proudly. "McGonagall is allowing students to repeat their 7th year if they wish. Draco chose to go back and finish properly."

"I'm sure he's also going to ensure that your family name isn't slandered and tainted," Andromeda suggested with a raised eyebrow.

"Possibly. Who knows his motives; I'm just proud of him for doing it."

"I think Harry mentioned something about returning to Hogwarts. I wasn't sure what he was referring to, but this makes sense."

Narcissa gave an odd smile, then looked down at her hand, which was still in her sister's grasp. "Meda?"

"Yes?"

Narcissa paused then looked up at her sister, sincerity in her eye. "Can we start over? Is there any way for me to make up for the past thirty years of not being your sister?"

Andromeda thought about it for a moment. With Bellatrix gone and her husband in jail, Cissa was looking for someone to cling to. She had done fine without her sisters for three decades; she assumed she would have been fine living out the rest of her life without them as well. Yet at the back of her mind, the thought of having a sister again did not seem too horrible.

Narcissa was looking at her in honest sincerity; it was possible that just maybe she needed a sister just as much as Andromeda did.

Andromeda smiled. "Well, you could start by paying for my tea."

Narcissa paused then returned the smile. "I think I can manage that."


	7. 12 Blood

The time frame on this one is completely warped, so bear with me. It's supposed to be in her 5th year, but chronologically doesn't work cuz Bellatrix would have graduated by then... blah.

* * *

Andromeda sighed impatiently as she eyed the clock over the mantelpiece. Ted was twenty minutes late. Her tutor, who scolded her for being even a second late, had failed to show up for their nightly study. The Common Room was deserted; all of the other students were off in the Ravenclaw private library. She sat in Ted's favorite chair with her arms across her chest.

A wistful smile tried to break onto her lips, but Andromeda beat it back with a frown. No, that was another battle she was still trying to fight. Her attractions to Ted would pass once she found someone else. In the mean time, she would just have to keep her legs crossed and picture him as a grotesque pile of bloody mud. That would keep her feelings at bay.

She winced at the thought of imagining Ted to be a literal Mudblood. It amazed her to no end that though she had been raised to use the word freely, she hated it now. It was rude and conceited; it wasn't Ted's fault that his parents were Muggles.

Andromeda found her thoughts floating to them. What must it be like to have no knowledge of Magic at all then suddenly learn your child can control it? For her, it was no question. Her parents had raised her a witch and taught her everything she knew about Magic. What was it like to live as a Muggle in total ignorance of the real world?

She had never heard Ted talk about his parents. She imagined them to be nice and understanding; they would have to be, knowing their son was so different. She imagined his mother to be incredibly kind and patient; lord knows Ted had enough patience to fill the Great Hall. He had to get it from somewhere. His father was probably witty and charming; another trait Ted must have gotten from his parents.

The low sound of an opening door brought Andromeda from her thoughts. She pushed the happy smile from her face and adopted her normal sneer. She eyed the door and saw Ted's back in the shadows, his arms trying to push the door closed quietly.

"You'd better have a good excuse for being so late," she snipped. "Though I suspect I should gloat in the fact that you have no reason to yell at me next time I'm late."

Ted's shoulders were hunched and he froze at the sound of her voice. He paused after she finished then slowly turned to face her. She let out a loud gasp and leapt to her feet.

Ted's entire right side of his face was black and swollen. His lip was bleeding in several places and his nose had the dried remains of blood above his lip. His left eye was bruised and the cornea itself was red. He didn't move; instead, he gave her a weary sigh.

Andromeda ran over to him, placing her hand gingerly on his cheek. He winced loudly, raising a hand as if to push her off, yet made no attempt to.

"Ted, what happened?" she breathed, looking over his face and gently feeling the wounds. He looked exhausted. Andromeda grabbed one of his hands – she noticed that several of his knuckled were bloody as well – and led him over to the sofa. She sat down and tugged for him to sit beside her. He let out a painful sigh as he did so.

"Lie down," Andromeda commanded, twisting his shoulders and guiding his head down into her lap. She pulled her wand out from her sleeve and summoned a few dry rags over from the hearth. She pointed at her tea cup and after murmuring a few spells, it transformed into a large basin with hot water. She pointed her wand up at the staircase. "[I]Accio potions kit[/I]!" A few moments later, her potions kit flew down the stairs and into her hands. She pulled out various leaves and herbs and ground them up in her hand. She dumped them into the hot water then poked it with her wand, waiting as it swirled into a bright blue.

"You're learning," Ted chuckled weakly.

"I have a good tutor," Andromeda said with a smile. She finally returned her wand to her sleeve and dipped the rags into the liquid. She wrung it out with her hands then gently began dabbing at Ted's face. "Now, are you going to tell me what happened? And why you didn't go to the hospital wing?"

"I didn't want to cause any more trouble," Ted said with a wince. "If I had gone to the hospital wing, Dumbledore would have found out and gotten them into trouble. That would only give them more incentive to do it again."

Andromeda paused. "Someone _did _this to you?"

Ted avoided her gaze. "Yes."

"And you didn't defend yourself?"

Ted's eyes flashed at her in annoyance. "I tried to! I didn't want to use Magic since they didn't, so it would have seemed cowardly."

"But you were outnumbered!" Andromeda cried. "And they attacked a Prefect!" Her eyes blazed in fury. "Who did this to you?"

When Ted wouldn't meet her gaze and didn't speak, Andromeda understood. "Bellatrix?" She asked in disbelief. "Did she get Rudolphus…"

"Don't worry about it," Ted mumbled.

"Don't worry about it?" Andromeda yelled, dabbing at Ted's cheek out of anger and causing him to wince. She recoiled quickly, trying to check her anger. "My sister and her friends did this to you and you won't want me to worry? What on earth reason did they have?"

"I said don't worry about it," Ted said sternly, looking up into her eyes. "Don't, Andy. I don't want to cause any more trouble."

Andromeda conceded for the moment, going back to tending his wounds. His cheek was already beginning to go down, and she had gotten the blood cleaned up from his lips. "Close your eyes," she instructed, waiting for him to do so before lightly pressing the cloth over his eyes for several seconds. The potion was designed to work fast, though it could not fix everything. The scabs from the open wounds would have to heal normally, though the swelling would at least go away. He would still have to feel it all, unfortunately.

She reached down and took his hands, cleaning up the knuckles one by one. Her heart began to race as she held his hands in hers. She shook her head and pushed the thoughts out, focusing once more on how she would approach her sister and demand explanation.

"I'll talk to Bellatrix tomorrow," she said in a harsh tone. "What on earth would make her think that beating up one of my friends…" He voice caught in her throat as realization sunk in once more. "That's it, isn't it?" she asked, looking down at Ted. "Did she hurt you because she doesn't think you should be my friend."

"Not totally," Ted mumbled.

"Ted, please," she pleaded in anger. "Why did Bellatrix hurt you? I would rather hear it from you that from her."

Ted remained silent for a moment, then sat up with a groan. He didn't meet her gaze but instead stared down at his hands. "I didn't want this, Andy. I know how your family is and what they think of me."

"Oh, you don't know the half of it," Andromeda said snidely, pausing when she saw Ted look up at her sadly.

"Exactly. No matter what I do, all they'll see is a filthy Mudblood, Andy. They will never see me. I can't be someone I'm not."

"I'm not asking you to," Andromeda said quietly, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Regardless of how I treat you, I do consider you a friend, Ted."

"But could you ever consider me as more?" Ted turned his gaze to her, seeing shock on her face. "You're not like them, Andy. You're different. You hide behind this mask of a dignified snob but that's not who you are." He let out a cruel laugh. "You've gone against everything your family stands for just to be friends with me."

"I hated you at first, if that counts," she mused.

Ted smiled. "But you changed. You're kind and loving. And no matter how good you are at playing the part of Andromeda Black…" He reached over and cupped her chin, continuing in a low voice. "That's not who you are anymore. You're Andy. Even when you're playing the snob, I look at you and all I can see is Andy." He paused for a moment. "Your sister and her friends hurt me because they've seen the way I look at you."

Andromeda felt her throat run dry. Her eyes darted back and forth across Ted's face. He had all but said it. Her mouth opened to speak, yet the words halted. She couldn't be with Ted. It wasn't that she did not want to. She knew that if word got out that she was seeing a Muggle-born, it would be a death sentence for him.

Tears stung her eyes as she shook her head. She took his hand from her face and held it between her own. "Ted, my family would kill you."

"You're worth the risk."

"Don't do this," she pleaded. "Find some other girl – someone safe who-"

Ted cut her off by quickly leaning in and kissing her. He pulled back slowly with a wince, grimacing as his lip threatened to begin bleeding again. Leaning his forehead against her head, he murmured, "we can hide it until Bellatrix graduates. Until then, we always have here. They can't touch us here."

Andromeda remained quiet, finally snaking her arm up around Ted's neck and holding him tightly. Ignoring his bruises as best he could, he pulled her into his embrace, letting her head rest in the crook of his neck.

"I won't let her hurt you again," she said softly yet defiantly.

"Pretend to still hate me when she's around," Ted suggested. "That'll throw her off."

"How could I ever hate you?" she remarked with a soft smile.

Ted raised an eyebrow. "Did you just say five minutes ago about how you used to?"

Andromeda snerked but said nothing else. Ted chuckled then seemed to be content just sitting with Andromeda. At length, he let out a small laugh.

"What?" Andromeda inquired.

Ted turned his head down to look at her, then smirked as he looked over at the fireplace. "From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean…" He paused then added, "It's Shakespeare. He was a Muggle writer."

Andromeda rolled her eyes. "We read Shakespeare in the Wizarding world too, you know." They both chuckled for a moment, Andromeda slowly stroking up and down Ted's arms. "Romeo and Juliet. Morbidly fitting."

"Yes. Especially how Tybalt threatens Romeo to stay away from Juliet."

Andromeda knitted her brows in a mock-frown and looked up at Ted. "You don't expect me to kill myself, do you?"

Ted laughed and leaned down as he spoke. "It is very fortunate then that I can recognize a sleeping potion from being dead." Smiling, he met her mouth with another long kiss.


	8. 36 Threat

They came far later than Andromeda had suspected.

Even since the battle at the Department of Mysteries, the Death Eaters had confirmed that Nymphadora was in fact a member of the Order of the Phoenix. This marked her for death in Voldemort's book. Auror she may be, and a Metamorphmagus to boot, Andromeda still feared for her daughter's life.

While she was eternally proud of her daughter for standing up and fighting in what she believed in, Andromeda knew that once the Death Eaters learned of her involvement, Dora would not only be risking her life but also the life of her parents.

Since that day, Andromeda had lived in a tense state of anticipation. She and Ted had put up even more enchantments around their home and were even careful in their messages to Dora. They took every precaution when their daughter visited; they were both used to Tonks looking like someone else when she came home, so it would be all too easy for a Death Eater to pretend to be Dora in another morph. Special passwords and knocks were created, though Dora tried to just stay away from home as much as possible.

Her marriage to Remus had not been very welcomed by Andromeda and Ted, especially to a werewolf who was not much younger than her parents, but it calmed Andromeda only in the knowledge that there would be someone else protecting her daughter.

Ted had become her only source of sanity. Remembering what it had been like last time for the Muggle-Borns, he only ventured out of the house to work and back and even then, his lab was concerned for the safety of its employees. The cellar had been transformed into a small potions lab so Ted could do his work at home and not have to risk travelling each day. Andromeda had begun to get cross about the smells drifting up the stairs and finally resorted to placing odor-blocking charms in the doorway.

Each night, one of them would check all the protective charms placed around the house. It became a repetitive job but neither complained. They both knew how important it was.

When the Order had asked to use their house to transport and hide Harry Potter, Andromeda and Ted knew the risk they were taking. They had been lucky thusfar and had not seen a single Death Eater, but luck only went so far.

Meeting Harry had hurt Andromeda. There was so much of Sirius' spirit in him. She had learned after his death that Sirius was innocent and had been hiding in London. She had been angry that Dora had kept it from her, but knew that Dora was sworn to secrecy by the Order. She wished she had been able to see her younger cousin; the fourteen years without him always felt like a part of her was missing. And now he was gone before she ever got to say goodbye.

After Harry left, Andromeda was a sack of nerves barely held together. She was so worried about Dora and whether or not she was all right. She had taken to pacing in the sitting room, aiming to clean up and repair the broken furniture as Ted cleaned up his mess from tending to Hagrid, but ended up walking back and forth instead. When Ted finally emerged to wash his hands, he gave his wife an odd look before crossing to the kitchen. Once his hands were clean and dried, he went to his wife's side and held her still.

Andromeda let Ted's arms engulf her in a tight embrace. Several tears began to slide down her cheeks. "Dora…"

"She'll be fine," Ted murmured, leading her over to the sofa. He pulled his wife down with him as he sat, keeping her tightly locked in his embrace as he began stroking her hair. "Dora knows her stuff. She'll be okay," he whispered.

It was nearly an hour later before a canine-shaped Patronus came bounding down the lane. Andromeda flew off the sofa and ran to the door as she saw it approach, Ted following at a slower pace.

The silvery figure paused at the door, Nymphadora's voice floating out of it. "We're both all right. Thank you for keeping Harry safe. I love you." The animal disappeared into the air and Andromeda nearly collapsed in relief.

The couple retired to bed soon after, their weariness catching up with the late hour. As Andromeda turned the bathroom light off, she noticed Ted was sitting up in bed, staring up at the ceiling. She crawled into bed next to him, curling at his side.

"He saw Harry come here," Ted commented. "You-Know-Who. It's only a matter of time now."

Andromeda nodded. She had guessed as much. "Do they know who the house belongs to?"

"Bellatrix and Narcissa would probably be the only two who remembered it belonging to your uncle," Ted pointed out, continuing to stare at the ceiling as if looking at the protective charms that had kept them safe. "They would probably figure it out. At best, all we can hope for is that they just send someone to come interrogate whoever lived here."

Andromeda's mind drifted to her sisters. It had been over two decades since she had seen either of them. She was sure that Bellatrix had not change; if anything, her older sister was probably far more ill-tempered and evil. How Narcissa had changed was still a puzzle to Andromeda. Narcissa was spoiled, yes, but their youngest sister was never really evil. Could she too have turned out like Bellatrix?

"If Bellatrix is one of them, she will not hesitate to kill us both," Andromeda murmured.

"I know," Ted replied grimly, turning his head down to meet his wife's gaze. They remained silent for a moment before Ted placed a long kiss on his wife's mouth. "I love you," he said quietly. "No matter what, I will always love you."

"And I you," Andromeda replied, bringing a hand up to stroke her husband's cheek. "Not a day goes by that I'm not thankful that I have you."

"You don't regret it, even the slightest?" he asked quietly, taking her hand in his. "You could have lived a normal life, Drom."

"And I chose you," she reprimanded, her eyes shining with the infamous Black defiance. "And I'll never be sorry that I chose you." She kissed her husband once more, trying to put as much into it as she could. As they broke, both remained silent. Ted killed the lights with a wave of his hand and slid down into bed, Andromeda curled up beside him. Neither said what they both were thinking.

It was only a matter of time.

It was nearly a week later that they finally arrived.

The sun had already set behind the hills. Ted was down in his lab checking on several potions and Andromeda was cleaning up remnants of their dinner. A loud wailing went off inside the house; one of their charms had been breached. Andromeda dove for her wand, spinning around and tossing a stunning spell at the hooded figured who had just kicked in her back door.

She blocked several spells that flew at her before one of the hooded figures stepped forward. "Wait!"

Andromeda kept her wand raised yet did not cast a spell. She glared at the figures with narrowed eyes, looking back and forth and waiting for them to strike.

The one who had spoke removed his mask, revealing a man about her age with dark hair. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think?" she hissed at him incredulously.

The man seemed utterly confused. "But… you were there when we left. He didn't send you," the man continued with a perplexed look.

Andromeda blinked at him, realization dawning on her. They thought she was Bellatrix. Even Harry had mistaken her at first glance. Her brain began racing as to how she could use their mistake to her advantage. She kept her scowl, frantically trying to imagine how her sister's portrait had been acting in the Daily Prophet wanted photos.

"You took your sweet time getting here," she snickered before turning around to turn off the tap. Pointing her wand at the cellar door, she quickly mumbled a series of charms as the man began rambling his excuses.

"We came straight here. Well, we had to make a small detour at first but still we came to the place the Dark Lord indicated-" The lock on the door clicked then was muffled. She knew Ted would be angry with her for locking him in and ensuring that they couldn't hear his yells, but she equally knew how they would treat her Muggle-born husband.

Andromeda wheeled around and cut off the man, crossing her arms over her chest. "That's very interesting but still, you're late. I've already taken care of everything here."

The three in the doorway eyed each other, the maskless man looking angry. "We were sent to do it."

"And you dallied so I got the job done. I'm sure the Dark Lord would love to hear about your tardiness." Andromeda felt a drip of sweat creep down her spine. She wasn't sure how long the façade would last. She gripped her wand tightly, trying to think of the easiest way to incapacitate the three before they learned of her deceit.

The maskless Death Eater turned red with anger. "Now wait just a minute…"

A fourth Death Eater appeared at the back of the group. As the other continued to blabber on, the last Death Eater pushed through the group.

"_Expelliarmus_!" he crowed with wand pointed at Andromeda. Her own wand flew out of her hand, cutting off the babbling Death Eater.

"What are you doing?" he yelled in confusion. Andromeda almost felt sorry for the man. He was so utterly confused and now this would make him feel like an idiot. Though on second thought, her sympathy wasn't all too great.

The fourth Death Eater slowly walked toward her. Wand still pointed out, he removed his mask, revealing an old familiar face with dark hair and a small goatee. "Andromeda Black," he pronounced with a small hint of pride.

"Tonks now," Andromeda reminded, keeping her composure at a face she hadn't seen, nor wanted to see since Hogwarts. "Rabastan," she greeted coldly.

The first Death Eater was looking back and forth between them. "But… Isn't… that's Bellatrix!" he declared.

Rabastan Lestrange shot the man a glare. "You idiot. I can see why you would be fooled, though," he added with a pointed stare at Andromeda. "All of the Black women have the same vicious streak." He turned back to the man. "This is none other than Bellatrix and Narcissa Malfoy's denounced sister."

"Is that any way to talk to an In-Law, Rabastan?" Andromeda jeered with contempt.

She should have seen the curse coming. The pain came over her before the word "_Crucio_" left Rabastan's lips. She fell to the ground in agony, letting out a small shriek. The pain left for a moment, Andromeda watching as the feet of the other Death Eaters finally fully entered the house.

Rabastan slowly began to circle her. "So this is where you've been hiding all of these years. Where's that Mudblood husband of yours?"

"Work," Andromeda answered truthfully before pulling herself up into a sitting position.

"And he left you all alone? Tsk tsk," Rabastan chided. "You know, Bellatrix and my brother had so hoped that you would become attached to me."

Andromeda made a face. "Forgive me – I think I just vomited in my mouth a little."

Another wave of pain hit her. She was more prepared this time; she gritted her teeth and would not let more than a groan escape from her lips. The pain shot up and down her body, feeling like someone was jabbing every inch of her body with red hot knives. It finally subsided, Andromeda letting out a withheld breath and panting heavily.

"Keep your wands on her," Rabastan ordered, raising his up. "_Homenum revelio_." Andromeda felt blood drain from her face. Of all the protective wards, she hadn't thought to try and block that one. It would tell them that Ted was in fact present and point them in his direction.

At once, a red light erupted from Rabastan's wand, spiraling through the air toward the cellar door. It quickly disappeared, a smile sweeping across Rabastan's face. "Well well… He's at work, is he?"

Andromeda tried to shrug. "He was doing work; you never specified where." Another wave of pain came over her as Rabastan shot another curse at her. She let out a scream of pain; he had put more into it this time and the pain was unbearable. When he finally released her, she collapsed onto the ground once more.

Rabastan turned and pointed his wand at the cellar door. "Come on out, Mudblood. Unless you want us to continue to torture your wife. " When he got no response, Rabastan sent another blast of the curse at Andromeda. He gloated as she writhed on the ground. "Your husband's a coward."

"He – is not," Andromeda managed to say between clenched teeth. Rabastan released her, laughing hollowly. "Oh really? Why isn't he out her protecting you?"

Andromeda pushed herself up into a sitting position, glaring up at her torturer as she panted to catch her breath. "I'm – protecting – him."

"Touching," Rabastan sneered, grabbing her by her scalp and pulling her to her feet. Andromeda yelped as she found Rabastan's wand at her throat. "You are such a disgrace to the title Pureblood. Marrying yourself to that filth. Then letting your halfblood child marry a werewolf?"

Andromeda forced a laugh. "You – think we let her?"

Rabastan scoffed. "At least you still have some Black in you. It is rather a shame, you know," he cooed, running his wand hand down her cheek, the excitement in his eyes growing as her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You would have made me such a lovely wife."

"Touch me again and I'll ensure you never reproduce," Andromeda hissed loudly. She found Rabastan's wand at her throat once more. He eyed her evenly then turned to look at the cellar door. Wand still pointed, he walked around her so they were both facing the door, grabbing one of her arms with his free hand and pinning it painfully behind her back.

"Come out, Mudblood. I could take your wife right now if I wanted to. And yet you're so silent. Unless-" he looked down at Andromeda with amusement. "You _locked_ him down there, didn't you? And used a silencing charm too, no doubt. You were always quite good at Charms." Rabastan eyed the other Death Eaters, nodding his head to the door. The maskless one stepped forward, murmuring a spell at the door. As if earplugs had been pulled out of all of their ears, Ted's pounding and yelling poured through the house.

"-MEDA! If you touch her, I swear I'll-"

"Ah there you are, Ted," Rabastan called loudly. "I was beginning to think you actually would abandon your wife to torture to save yourself."

"Let her go!" Ted called loudly, pounding on the door several times.

"I'll gladly swap you for her, if you should decide to join us," Rabastan lazily voiced.

"I have tried every damn spell to open this door," Ted replied. "Andromeda, let me out. Now."

Andromeda felt tears sting at her eye. "I'm sorry, Ted," she said softly. "I love you." She turned to Rabastan. "If you swear to leave him be, I'll go with you."

"No!" Ted began to beat on the door and jiggle the doorknob so that its metallic clanks almost matched the fervor of his voice. "Open the door, Drom. Don't do this."

Rabastan laughed loudly, looking down at her with astonishment. "We're here to interrogate, Andromeda. Who says we're going anywhere?" Turned his eyes back to the door, he moved his wand from her neck pointed at the sound of Ted's voice. "Allow me."

Before Andromeda could cry out in protest, Rabastan shot a destructive spell at the door. The frame and everything around it collapsed with a loud roar as wood exploded, glass shattered, and ceramic broke. A low moan came from the bottom of the cellar; Ted had been blown back along with everything else.

The three Death Eaters quickly ran toward the cellar, disappearing down it and returning moments later dragging Ted up and over the wreckage. Andromeda tried to struggle out of Rabastan's grip; Ted was somewhat conscious but bleeding from several large gashes in his forehead and chest. They propped him up on his knees, pulling his hair up so that he was looking at Rabastan. One of them held Ted's wand, pointing it at his throat.

"So nice of you to join us," Rabastan chided.

Andromeda tried to wiggle out of his grasp once more, turning to glare at her warden. "If he dies right now, do you honestly thing I would tell you anything? Do what you came here to do, but let me make sure he'll live." She held his fierce gaze, her eyes dark and full of anger.

Rabastan held her gaze before shaking his head slightly and letting go of her arm. "Merlin's beard, you look like Bella when you do that." He pushed her forward slightly. "No funny business."

Andromeda ran over to Ted, wrapping her arms around his chest and letting him embrace her weakly. "Stupid – witch," he panted out heavily. Andromeda smiled sadly then pulled back to look him over. He was battered and bruised from the room exploding around him. A large gash on his forehead was still bleeding profusely, but there were no other signs of damage. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"I think I may have broken a few bones," Ted wheezed, "but other than that, I'm peachy."

Andromeda kissed him quickly, turning back to Rabastan. "Can I move him to the sofa?"

"No."

"Well then can you hurry up and ask what you came here to ask?" she demanded exasperatedly as she crossed her arm over her chest.

"I'll take as long as I like," Rabastan purred with a wicked smile.

Andromeda rolled her eyes. "The sooner you start, the better."

"Very well then," he replied with a lazy sigh. He pointed a finger to the floor beside him. "You. Here."

"Not even going to say please?" Andromeda retorted snidely.

"_Crucio_!" Andromeda flinched on reflex but realized the hex wasn't aimed at her. It took a split second later for Ted to moan in pain.

"Stop it!" she called, hurrying over to Rabastan's side. The curse ended, Ted hunching forward and breathing heavily. Andromeda eyed him with sorrow then turned to Rabastan. "Ask your questions."

Rabastan eyed her evenly then began walking around her slowly. "Here's how it works. I ask a question. You answer. If I feel you're lying, he suffers. If he lies, you suffer. If he does anything that displeases me, you suffer. And so on and so forth."

Andromeda eyed Ted then gave a small nod. "All right."

"Good. I'm glad we're at an understanding," Rabastan said lazily, eyeing them with wicked glee. "The Dark Lord followed Harry Potter to this house over a week ago. It seems that they anticipated our attack and had several disguised Potters go to different houses. Where else did the fake Potters go?"

"I don't know," Andromeda began. Before she could continue on, Ted let out a scream of pain. Andromeda's eyes went wide as she turned to Rabastan. "It's the truth! They didn't tell us where else – just as they didn't tell us where he was going after he left here!"

After Ted let out several more yelps of pain, Rabastan stopped the curse. He eyed her evenly. "Yet you did agree to help them. You know the Dark Lord wishes him dead, but you still chose to help him."

"Of course," Andromeda answered, raising her chin. "Though we are not members of the Order of the Phoenix, we are not loyal to your Lord."

"But your daughter – she is an Order member."

"She is a grown woman. She does as she pleases and makes her own decisions."

"Where is she at present?"

"I don't know-" Ted began screaming again in pain. His hand fell onto the floor, his body scrunching up in agony. Once it let up, he glared up at Rabastan. "Stay away from my daughter, you filth-."

This time, it was Andromeda's turn. Rabastan turned the curse on her, waiting for her to scream before cutting it off. "Don't you ever talk to me that way again, Mudblood!"

"Dora's moved," Andromeda began speaking quickly through gasps of breath. "When she married, she moved. For safety reasons, she won't tell us where. We don't ask."

Rabastan eyed the two evenly, continuing his slow walk around Andromeda. He let the silence ring through the air for several minutes before speaking again. "And Potter. Where is he?"

"I don't-" Andromeda cut herself off as she saw Rabastan raise his wand at Ted. She shuffled to place herself between him and her husband, raising her arms slightly. "The last time we saw or heard from Potter was the few minutes he was here the night the Dark Lord saw him. We know nothing about his location, his plans, anything." She eyed Rabastan pleadingly. "Please believe me. We don't know anything." The tension in the air was tangible. Rabastan was staring her down, unwilling to make a move. Andromeda wet her lips as she tried to think of a way to break the silence without resulting in Ted being cursed again.

"And you owe me a new door," she added on matter-of-factly, tossing a reprimanding glare at Rabastan.

The Death Eater stared at her with contemptuous incredibility then let out a laugh. He shook his head as he lowered his wand. "You Black girls… You all have the same fighting spirit in you." He motioned for the Death Eaters to follow him, turning and heading to the back door. "Your wands will be in your garden. I'll give your regards to your sister."

"I wouldn't want you to go out of your way to do that," Andromeda replied with a snicker.

Rabastan turned and looked at her evenly. "If I learn that you've lied about anything, Andromeda, it won't be me who returns, but your sister. And she's not as forgiving as I am."

"Trust me, Rabastan," she answered softly. "I know that better than anyone."

Rabastan gave a small head nod. "Unless next time. Andromeda. Mudblood." With a slam of the back door, they left. Andromeda remained frozen in place for a moment before turning and rushing back to Ted. Falling to her knees in front of him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his chest. He fell against her as he weakly wrapped an arm around her.

"Insufferable woman," Ted moaned. "Don't ever – EVER – lock me up like that."

"I'm sorry," she mumbled quietly. Ted was in bad shape. The gash on his head was still trickling out a fair amount of blood, as were the numerous cuts across his body. It was nothing Andromeda knew she couldn't handle on a normal day, yet the effects of the curse were still lingering in her system. Her body screamed with protest with every move and breath. All that was keeping her going was pure stubbornness.

She needed to get them both to St. Mungos. She was in no shape to care for Ted, and at least they would be protected. She tried to will her legs to move; she needed to find their wands then floo them both to the emergency ward. However, it hurt too much to move. Instead she merely sat there with her husband, holding him tightly.

"It not over yet," Ted mused quietly. "It's going to be a lot worse this time around."

"I know," Andromeda acknowledged. She tightened her grip on her husband. As a Pure Blood, they held no real interest in her. They would be after Ted and all of the other Muggle Borns. She knew it was only a matter of time.


	9. 28 Inside

This is actually a song-fic in response to the Disney Song-Fic challenge I hosted over at . I used it as one of my Vig's. The song is "Reflection" from Mulan. I chose to use the Pop version since I believe it fit the mood better.

* * *

_Christmas Eve, 1968_

"Andromeda! Hurry up!"

Narcissa appeared in the doorway of Andromeda's room moments later, looking cross and rather impatient. She was dressed in a sharp black velvet and silver jacquard dress, offset by a pair of their mother's favorite pearls. Her blonde hair was pinned up and a liberal amount of makeup had been applied. She tapped the toe of her black pump impatiently.

Andromeda looked in amusement at her younger sister. The Malfoys had decided to throw a Christmas Eve ball, inviting all the Pure Blood families in the region. That is to say, all of the ones they actually liked. As their only son, Lucius, had recently begun to court Narcissa, it had become obvious that it was merely for the benefit of showing off the pair, parading them around as the good little Pure Blood couple.

Bellatrix would of course be there with her boyfriend Rodolphus, no doubt continuing their campaign of bringing up exactly how disgusting it was that Hogwarts allowed non-Pure Bloods to study there.

Andromeda sat in front of her vanity, several hair pins held in her teeth as she weaved her hair up and pinned it into place. As soon as her mouth was free, she gave her younger sister a small smile. "I'm almost finished, Cissa. I'll be right down."

Narcissa rolled her eyes and took off with a huff, leaving Andromeda to finish her hair. She set the last pin then eyed herself in the mirror, letting out a sad sigh.

_Look at me  
You may think you see  
Who I really am  
But you'll never know me_

Andromeda still found it hard to believe that she had once been as closed-minded as her two sisters when it came to the issue of Blood. Fate had placed her away from her sisters at Hogwarts, letting her learn free from her family's shadow and see how the world really was. It was thanks to this fate that she had met Ted; through him, she realized how wrong it was to judge someone by whether or not they were a pure-blood. His friendship had helped her open her eyes.

His love had shown her how dangerous her family really was.

In her heart, Andromeda knew that to protect Ted, she had to continue to pretend to be the snobby, arrogant aristo that her family had raised her to be. She had to humiliate him in her family's presence; scorn him, laugh at him, and carry on as if he disgusted her. Yet every time she did, her heart broke more and ached for the moment when, once hidden back safely in Ravenclaw Tower, she could crawl into his embrace and tearfully apologize.

_Every day  
It's as if I play a part  
Now I see  
If I wear a mask  
I can fool the world  
But I cannot fool my heart_

Andromeda eyed herself in the mirror, looking over her prim, painted form. She looked like the rest of them; the stuck-up, spoiled rich Pure-Blood girls who kept their noses turned up at those below them. But it wasn't her.

_Who is that girl I see  
Staring straight back at me?  
When will my reflection show  
Who I am inside? _

"Andromeda!"

Narcissa's shrill yell echoed from downstairs. Moving away from the vanity, Andromeda grabbed her warm cloak and blew out her candles. Downstairs, she found her sister and father waiting. Before Andromeda could fasten her cloak, Narcissa had the door open, letting the freezing winter air in as she made a mad dash for the carriage.

Cygnus gave a small smile as he helped Andromeda fasten her cloak. "I do believe she's in a hurry," he chuckled. Andromeda returned the smile, taking her father's arm and heading out into the snow toward the carriage.

_I am now  
In a world where I  
Have to hide my heart  
And what I believe in_

The Malfoy's manor was decorated unlike any place Narcissa had seen before. The white marble contrasted with the green holly and red flowers that adorned the banisters. A large decorative tree stood in the entrance hall, live golden and silver pixies buzzing about its branches. Andromeda peeled off her cloak and looked around in wonder. As much as she did not really like the family, she had to admit that their home looked much more homely and inviting for Christmas than their Aunt Walburga's home, where they traditionally spent Christmas day. Grimmauld Place was dark and grey; Malfoy Manor was brilliant and warm.

Narcissa had not wasted a moment in finding her boyfriend. As soon as she was in the door, her cloak had been thrown toward the house elf who stood near a cloak closet, bowing politely as guests entered. She spotted Lucius and sped off, leaving Andromeda with her father. They deposited their cloaks with the house elf then followed the crowd into the parlor.

Andromeda felt very out of place. She was surrounded by people she had known her entire life; her family, friends of the family, relatives, and yet she felt isolated. All of the guests near her age were Slytherins whom she never had talked to before. She spotted a group of girls that she knew Narcissa was friends with, hearing them giggle and gossip as they wove through the crowd.

She felt a familiar hand lightly squeeze her shoulder, turning to find her favorite uncle Alphard. He held out one of the two glasses in his hand as he kissed his niece's cheek. "Hello there love. Quite a circus, don't you think?"

"It's very nice," Andromeda admitted, sipping the drink Alphard had handed to her. "Though I don't know how I'll ever recover from missing the traditional Black Family Christmas Eve fight," she added with a smirk.

Alphard laughed loudly. "I'm sure we'll make up for it tomorrow night, my dear." He took her arms as they walked slowly toward an emptier room. "How's that fellow of yours?" he asked lowly.

Andromeda blushed. Her uncle was the only adult in her entire family that she knew she could confide in. He did not share the Black's purist values; he played the fool to keep from family scorn, yet Andromeda knew him to be a very kind, loving man. "He's doing well. He and his family went to France for the holiday."

Alphard looked over his shoulder for eavesdroppers, lowering his voice even more. "This fellow Bellatrix's got – I don't quite know what to make of him. He seems a decent chap, but there's just something about him…"

"The fact that he's a pretentious git?" Andromeda bit out snidely.

Alphard smiled. "That would indeed explain it." More people had begun filling into the room, a loud conversation about Mudbloods echoing from three women across the room. Andromeda clenched her fist at her side. Alphard saw her discomfort and planted a kiss on her head. "Hang in there, Drom."

_But somehow  
I will show the world  
What's inside my heart  
And be loved for who I am_

_Who is that girl I see  
Staring straight back at me?  
Why is my reflection  
Someone I don't know?  
Must I pretend that I'm  
Someone else for all time?  
When will my reflection show  
Who I am inside? _

Dinner caused Andromeda huge discomfort. She had been seated across from Bellatrix and next to Rodolphus' idiot younger brother Rabastan. He was a year above Andromeda but her age. It had been made quite clear by both Narcissa and Bellatrix that they had hoped that Rabastan and Andromeda would become a couple, a thought which made her wish to quickly lose her lunch. Rabastan was not ugly, but bullying nature and ego the size of Jupiter made him one of the most unappealing boys Andromeda knew. Not to mention that he, along with his brother and Bellatrix, had hurt Ted.

And that, in her mind, was unforgivable.

"So how's the pigeon house," Rabastan asked as he flashed a cocky smile at her, trying to make conversation over dinner.

"Good, considering we're beating you in Quidditch so far," Andromeda answered with as much dead pan as she could muster, keeping her eyes on her food. She saw his face flicker with hurt pride for the briefest of a moment. Rabastan was one of the Slytherin team's keepers.

He quickly recovered, flashing a smile once more. "For now, I suppose. Though we do have a few hidden tricks up our sleeves," he added, flexing his arm as he answered. Andromeda did all she could to not roll her eyes.

On the other side of her, one of Lucius's friends, a third year whom Andromeda believed was named Augustus Rookwood, leaned in closer to her.

"So is it true that you and that Mudblood tutor of yours are an item?" he asked lowly.

Andromeda stared at him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Bellatrix had stopped and was staring intently at her as well, waiting for an answer. Andromeda blinked in wonderment and began laughing, putting a disgusted look on her face.

"Myself and a Muggleborn? Eww, who would even think that?"

Bellatrix resumed eating, though she still looked suspicious.

Augustus looked slightly embarrassed. "Well, you spend a lot of time with him-"

Andromeda waved him silent with her hand. "I happen to be exceptionally bad at potions, and that vile know-it-all happens to be very good at it." That was no longer true. Thanks to Ted, she had become quite good at Potions. However, they continued the ruse that he was her tutor simply to allow them more time together in public with any real suspicion.

"He's my tutor; nothing more. It's horrible that I have to be stuck with him so often, but if that's what it takes for me to pass – " she shrugged her shoulders and went back to eating her salad. After a moment, she let out a laugh again. "Myself and a Mudblood… god, could you imagine that?" Rookwood let out a small laugh as well, returning to his dinner.

Inside, her heart broke.

_There's a heart that must be  
Free to fly  
That burns with a need to know  
The reason why_

_Why must we all conceal  
What we think, how we feel?  
Must there be a secret me  
I'm forced to hide?_

The party carried on all night. She was forced to dance with Rabastan and several of Lucius's other pompous friends, her fake smile hurting her lips before the evening was over. Here she was in one of the grandest houses in all of the wizarding community, and yet all she wanted was to be curled up in an armchair in Ravenclaw Tower. With Ted.

After the clock had chimed one in the morning, families began to depart. Andromeda noted with irritation that it was well past two before they could drag Narcissa away from Lucius, heading out into the snowy courtyard to climb into their carriage. It took off with a jolt and Narcissa immediately began talking about the party. Neither Andromeda nor their father seemed in a chatty mood, which soured Narcissa greatly. However, it did result in a rather peaceful carriage ride home.

When they returned home, Andromeda dutifully kissed her father's cheek goodnight then retired to her room. She entered, locked the door, then sat at her vanity and began pulling the pins out of her hair. Once the auburn curls hung loosely onto her back, she looked at herself and began to cry.

She was careful to not sob out loud; Narcissa's room was right next to hers and it was very easy to hear through the walls. She instead let the hot tears roll down her cheeks, staring intently at herself and begging for forgiveness.

She hated having to play the part of the pure-blood snob. She wished that it would not be such a taboo to just come out and say that she loved Ted, but doing so in her family would equate to a death sentence.

She looked forward to the first day back at Hogwarts more than anything. After the welcome back feast, she and Ted would stay up late in the Common Room, where he would hold her tightly and let her cry as she begged his forgiveness for saying horrible things about him to her family. He would forgive her, as he always did, and just let her be content in his arms.

More than that, she longed for graduation. Once she was legal, she would be able to move away from her family and finally love Ted out where the world could see her. She would no longer have to hide who she really was and instead could finally be herself.

_I won't pretend that I'm  
Someone else for all time_

Until then, she would just have to pretend to be Andromeda Black.

_When will my reflection show  
Who I am inside?  
When will my reflection show  
Who I am inside?_


	10. 39 Remember

I completely just contradicted my own fanon with this. Whoops.

* * *

Andromeda supposed it was maternal intuition, but she always knew when something was bothering her daughter. She supposed every mother thought that about her child; the act of giving birth somehow lead to a psychic connection between the two that allowed a mother to know what their offspring was doing or thinking. Her own mother had certainly read her mind on many occasions as a child and could tell without even asking that Bellatrix had done something cruel to her.

It was not surprising then that Andromeda could tell when Dora was not content. However, seeing as her daughter was a Metamorphmagus, it was in fact harder than the normal child.

It was nearing the end of July and the sun was as hot as ever. Andromeda had kept all of the windows in the house open, digging out an old fan Ted had bought and using it to send a breeze through the house. Ted had messaged that he would be late coming home from work; an expired ingredient had caused a potion to explode and they were still trying to clean up the mess. Andromeda didn't mind; it gave her an afternoon to herself to catch up on housework and get a head start on dinner.

Dora had come home from Auror Training at sundown, bruised and sweaty as always. Andromeda heard her come in the front door and trudge up the stairs like she always did, yet was puzzled when she heard no voice greeting her. At the very least, Dora would yell "hi" when she came home. Instead, Andromeda was greeted with silence.

Andromeda busied herself with cooking the chicken for dinner, occasionally turning an eye to look up at the ceiling. The tap upstairs was running as Dora showered; she was taking longer than usual.

She finally emerged as Andromeda was setting the table. At the point, Dora would have usually began babbling about her day; what they were learning in training or how she was nervous about taking the exam or other concerns. Instead, there was silence. Andromeda mustered a smile. "How was today?"

Dora picked up the silverware and began setting them in place. "Fine, I guess – only two?" she eyed her mother as she held up an extra fork.

"Your father's running late, so it's just us tonight." Andromeda gave a sideways glance at her daughter as she set out two glasses. "Rough day today?"

Nymphadora glanced at her mother but returned her eyes to the table. "Huh? No, it wasn't too bad." Of that, Andromeda could tell she wasn't lying. However, Dora did not speak more of it. Her eyes remained downcast and clouded, as if she was thinking on something very hard. Her shoulders remained slumped and her hair wasn't it's normal horrible shade of pink.

Andromeda gave another smile as she headed back to the stove. "I made chicken," she supplied to break the silence, bringing the meat and some rolls over to the table. Dora made no move to help, but instead stood where she was, continuing to stare down in deep thought.

Setting the food on the table, Andromeda crossed to her daughter and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Dora, what's troubling you?"

Nymphadora finally met her mother's gaze, a look of remorse and confliction on her face. It startled Andromeda to see her daughter looking so serious. At twenty years of age, Dora was still lively and wild, not worn down and wary as her parents had been at her age. And yet, with the look she was giving her mother, Andromeda knew that her daughter had indeed matured.

"Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban," Dora said quietly, focusing her attention on her mother to see how she would take the news.

Andromeda recoiled back a step. A familiar pain swept through her chest; an ache for the loss of a most beloved relative. "When? How?" she stammered.

"They found him missing this evening," Dora answered regretfully. "It'll be in the Prophet tomorrow morning. As to how…" Dora let out a sigh. "They can't figure it out. There's no sign of a break out or that he fought his way out. He just… vanished." Nymphadora shook her head. "They were telling us the horrible things he did… Mom, he's in our _family_. One of _our_ relatives killed all those people…"

Andromeda put an arm around her daughter, hugging her to her side. "Listen to me, Dora. Sirius may be related to us by blood, but that does not make him part of our family any more."

Dora looked up at her mother with confusion. "But you always told me about how Sirius was the only family you had left, and that you and him were different than the rest of your family." She shook her head and stared off at the wall. "I remember him coming over here so often and all the wacky presents he would give me for Christmas. It just… I don't understand how he could do this."

Andromeda remained quiet. She remembered too well that evening twelve years before when she learned of Sirius' mass murder. Her shock and outrage fueled the denial that her younger cousin could have done such a thing. Sirius wasn't a murderer; had it been anyone else in the family, Andromeda would not have been surprised.

But not Sirius.

It had taken some time for her to accept Sirius' charges were true. While part of her mind could still not believe it, she forced herself to acknowledge that just perhaps Sirius was still, in fact, a Black.

-------

Almost two years after his escape, Sirius Black was old news. Andromeda would read a mention of him in the Prophet every once in a while, noting that the number of sightings had decreased tremendously. Instead, the number of articles about Dumbledore and Harry Potter had increased. Andromeda found it odd how the Prophet was attacking Dumbledore; Nymphadora had told her mother about Dumbledore's secret society that she had been invited into to help fight Voldemort. While she herself was not yet certain that the Dark Lord had returned, Nymphadora was a grown Auror who made her own decisions, whether her parents liked it or not.

What news did surface of Sirius was rubbish in Andromeda's mind; all articles claimed that Sirius was a follower of You-Know-Who and he was attempting to meet back up with the other Death Eaters. The thought of Sirius as a Death Eater made Andromeda laugh; had she not witnesses Sirius' numerous tirades about how the rest of the Black family, especially his younger brother Regulus and eldest cousin Bellatrix, were giving the Black name an even blacker reputation, she might have believed that he too had joined.

Dora's involvement in this so-called Order of the Phoenix worried Andromeda greatly. Dora was making herself into a target. Auror that she may be, and able to hide herself in the blink of an eye, Andromeda feared for her daughter's life.

Upon passing her Auror test, Dora had moved into her own small flat in London. It had pained Andromeda greatly to let her daughter leave, yet Ted had reminded her that she had left her family home when she was only nineteen. At least Dora had waited until she was twenty-one.

However, it was not as if Andromeda never saw her daughter. Dora soon realized that the one thing her London flat did not have was her mother's cooking. She was a frequent visitor, which Andromeda was grateful for.

It was a warm evening in June when Nymphadora came home for supper, looking rather tense. She tried hiding it, but Andromeda saw right through her daughter's guise. Dora was speaking too quickly and fumbling over her words, then looking serious when her mouth was not moving. Ted seemed to notice his daughter's discomfort as well, turning the conversation onto a different topic.

Halfway through dinner, Dora looked as if she was ready to bust, yet was still debating with herself whether or not to say anything. Her eyebrows remained furrowed and her eyes unfocused as she picked at her meat pie. Andromeda noticed that she kept reaching for her pocket, a small corner of a folded letter visible. She would play with it then pull her hand out as if she had been burned, returning to her dinner.

Ted finally set down his fork and eyed his daughter. "Out with it already, Dora. What's wrong?"

Dora's eyes furrowed even tighter and she kept her eyes on her food as she began shoveling another bite into her mouth. "Nothing's wrong."

"Did something happen at work?" Andromeda prodded gently.

"No." Dora refused to lift her eyes.

"Boy troubles?" Ted offered.

"No!" Dora's eyes lifted to her father in protest, a scowl on her face.

"Does it have to do with the letter in your pocket?" Andromeda asked quietly.

Nymphadora froze, turning her gaze slowly to her mother. Andromeda gave a small smile. "You've been playing with it all night, dear. What is it?"

Dora swallowed her food then eyed her parents before pulling out the letter. She looked down at it as she twirled it between her fingers. "It's a letter for you, Mum, but I don't know if I should give it to you."

"Why not?" Andromeda has never suspected the letter was for her; she had thought that Dora had gotten a letter from an admirer or that it was an important message from work. Never that it might be for her.

Nymphadora let out a sigh. "If I give you this, it would be breaking one of the Order's secrets. I mean, it's not like I don't trust that you would keep it a secret," Dora rambled quickly, giving her parents an apologetic eye, "it's just that I promised I wouldn't tell."

"Who's it from?" Ted asked gently.

When Nymphadora did not respond, Andromeda understood. "The Order is hiding whomever wrote the letter."

"Yes," Dora admitted. She paused for a moment before letting out a sigh. "He asked me to give it to you, so technically he's the one breaking the secret. But he's doing it through me, which means I would be as well…"

"Does Dumbledore know that he asked this of you?" Ted asked.

Nymphadora thought for a moment. "Probably not. Though I'm not completely sure Dumbledore would get mad if he told you." She eyed the letter once more. "But I think you have a right to know," she added quietly.

Andromeda reached across the table and covered her daughter's hand with hers. "Dora," she said gently, "who is it from?"

Dora remained quiet for a moment then raised her eyes to meet her mother's. "Sirius."

Andromeda recoiled her hand, shock and pain filling her. She quickly became angry, wanting to know what business Sirius wanted with her daughter and why he was using her to send her a message. Yet Dora was no fool; she was an Auror so if Dora hadn't captured him, that meant that he was still loose. And the Order was hiding him.

Nymphadora saw the wave of emotions flood over her mother. "He was innocent," she said quietly, eyeing the letter once more. "He always was. Sirius never killed those people, Mom," she repeated, raising her eyes to meet her mother's. Hesitantly, she handed the letter to her mother. "He asked me to give this to you."

"Where is he?" Ted asked quietly.

Dora shook her head. "That I can't tell you."

With a shaking hand, Andromeda took the letter from her daughter. "But… you've seen him?"

Dora nodded, then eyed both of her parents. "You both promise that you won't tell anyone of this?"

"Of course," Ted murmured, casting a look at his wife. Andromeda said nothing, staring down at the letter in her hands.

"Meda?" Ted prompted quietly.

Andromeda met her husband's gaze. He knew what pain Sirius had caused her all those years ago at his conviction and then to have that pain return with his escape? It had broken her heart. She knew she should have been thrilled to learn to he was innocent, yet all she could feel was shock.

"Please Mum," Dora pleaded. "Promise." After a moment, she added "he's _family_, Mum."

Andromeda blinked then slowly nodded her head. "Of course." Looking down at the letter in her hands, she slowly opened it.

A familiar text met her eyes. She smiled as she heard her cousin's voice in her head, reading of his false-accusation and felt tears prickle at her eyes at his assurances that there was indeed more than one good Black left.


	11. 18 Share

Nymphadora Tonks was, much to her parents delight and regret, a most precocious and inquisitive child. Little went past her notice, and questions bubbled out of her mouth. Andromeda had long become accustomed to the inquisition her daughter often subjected her to. With every day of Primary School, Nymphadora would learn new questions to ask her mother. Some were harmless, others were rather baffling and sometimes even very embarrassing. Andromeda would bless that her young daughter was only six years old; she knew that Nymphadora had no shame in the bluntness of her questions, and it would not be much longer before the questions of love and sex started coming in.

Those, Andromeda had told herself, she would let Ted handle.

Per usual, Andromeda had picked Dora up from school, sighing as she found her daughter with plaid colored hair. Sensing her mother's question, Dora had proudly told her mother that Linus Cage had dared her that she couldn't turn her hair plaid. She had won his chocolate biscuit at snack for proving him wrong and decided to wear the hair style the rest of the day to show off her triumph.

Once they Flooed home, the string of questions began. Today Dora's class had learned how to count money. The teacher had created fake galleons, knuts, and sickles for the children to use. Dora first questioned why they were different colors and shapes, why they got their names, how do wizards carry around all of their gold if they want to buy something, and most importantly, how much was an ice cream Sunday.

Before supper, Andromeda pulled out some coins to let Dora proudly showed off what she had learned. She hid a smile as Dora began concentrating on counting, arranging the coins into separate piles then using her fingers to begin counting.

Ted came home just as Andromeda added a box of pasta noodles to a boiling pot. She stole a kiss from her husband before their daughter claimed his attention to show her father all that she had learned. She proudly demonstrated her counting abilities with the coins, then got her father to heartily laugh at turning her hair plaid.

Questions never ceased at the dinner table as well. Dora would ask her father what he did at work, and then stop him every two seconds to inquire as to what a potion or ingredient was. When she finally paused to eat, Andromeda gave a small smile at her husband, opening her mouth to begin a new conversation between the two. However, Nymphadora cut her off with a mouth full of pasta.

"Mum, what's a Mudblood?"

Andromeda's fork dropped onto her plate with a clank. She eyed her daughter with wide eyes then turned to Ted, anger filling her at the word. Ted said nothing, merely looked at his daughter with interest. Setting his fork down as well, he took his wife's hand. Andromeda knew his thoughts; the word bothered her more than it bothered him. Or at least, as much as he was willing to admit.

Dora was looking between her parents uneasily, as if she could tell that they were very upset. She shrank back in her seat as much as she could, her hair paling to her normal, or what they had at least figured was normal, color.

"Where did you hear that word, Dora?" Ted asked softly.

"At-at school," Dora said meekly, looking down at her plate with confusion and sadness. "When Linus Cage dared me to change my hair." She paused for a moment, scrunching up her face as she thought. "He said a Mudblood like me wouldn't be able to do it." She sat up a little bit straighter when she added "I sure showed him!" She slouched back down slightly, looking at her parents. "Why am I a Mudblood?"

"You're not," Ted answered with a smile. "I am."

Nymphadora's face scrunched up even more. "Is it because you're a boy?"

Ted chuckled and looked over at Andromeda. "No, sweetheart."

"Well then what's it mean?" Dora's eyes were trained on her mother.

Ted squeezed her hand slightly, prompting Andromeda to talk. "Well… Are Gran and Pop wizards?"

"Nope! They're Muggles," Dora answered proudly.

"Exactly. Because Gran and Pop are Muggles and your Dad is a Wizard, he's called a Muggleborn." She hesitated before she continued. "There are some people… a lot of people in our world that believe if you're a Muggleborn, you're not as good as everyone else."

Dora eyed her parents incredulously. "But Dad's the best Wizard there is!"

Ted began laughing loudly, motioning for his daughter to come over to him. Dora scampered around the table and jumped up into her father's lap, letting him hug her tightly. "Thank you, Dora," he chuckled.

Dora's brows were knit as she frowned at her father. "But you are! It's not funny!"

Ted smiled down at his daughter. "That I may be, but other's don't think so. They think that because Gran and Pop aren't Wizards, my blood is dirty; that I'm less of a wizard than them."

Dora pondered this for a second. "Mudblood's a bad word, isn't it?" she asked meekly.

"It is," Andromeda answered with a tense nod. "It's a very bad word, Dora. I don't want you using it. Ever." She reached over and stroked her daughter's hair. "Mommy gets very upset when people call your daddy a Mudblood. When you're older, you'll understand why."

Dora looked between her parents, nuzzling into her father's chest. "You're still my favorite Mudblood, Daddy."


	12. 44 Experiment

Ted Tonks pulled at the collar of his coat and impatiently rapped his fingers against the steering wheel. This traffic signal was taking forever. The snow was piling up against the windshield of his father's Austin Farina, yet it showed no threat of fogging up. Ted's father had not approved at all of Ted casting charms on his mother's car at first. However, with the winter coming earlier than normal, it wasn't long before he had asked Ted to perform a similar charm on his own car. And one to keep the engine running smoothly. And one to keep the wheels from building up ice.

For a man who had not approved of his son's magical talents and had spent Ted's entire time at Hogwarts complaining about his son's "abnormality," he seemed rather cheerful about it as of late. Ted smirked at the thought then eyed the traffic signal once more. It still had not changed.

The radio was humming low, one of the Bay City Roller's hits from the previous fall. Ted flicked it off in irritation. He hated traffic. What was more, he hated that he had to endure traffic.

The most vexing thing about a wizard returning to his Muggle parents and Muggle neighborhood was that one had to pretend to be a Muggle once more. His all-too-nosy neighbors had more than once mentioned how odd it was that Ted's car never left the drive but he, and his new mystery fiancée, were seen going and coming from the house. After a few stern words from his parents (and a few memory charms as well), Ted had consented to driving each day to an old lot before apparating to Diagon Alley. While he understood the practicality of it, it nonetheless still annoyed him.

It had been eight months since he had left Hogwarts; time had seemed to fly so quickly. He had earned a position at the potions shop in Diagon Alley. It did not pay very much but it was still a job in Ted's eyes. All that mattered was that Andromeda was proud of him.

The past two months had been a dream for Ted. After he had proposed on Christmas Eve, he knew Andromeda would either have to hide it from her family or run the risk of being kicked out – or worse. It had taken some convincing before his parents had agreed to let their son's intended live with them. His mother was easy to persuade; his father was still rather wary of the magical world. However, even he had grown to love Andromeda and count her as part of their family.

Even though the two were engaged, Ted found with annoyance that his parents still upheld very strict rules. Ted and Andromeda had separate rooms, and through a parent's miraculous ability of guilt, both had agreed that they would stay in their own rooms each night. Ted found his parent's old-fashioned ways aggravating, but Andromeda would hush him with a quick kiss. His parents were being very generous for letting her stay at all, and they soon would be living on their own as a married couple.

Ted felt a familiar prick of worry at the thought. Even though he worked as much as he could, he still had not earned enough for a decent flat. Every spare sickle and galleon he earned was being saved for finding a place to live in and for the wedding. In fear of her family's retaliation, Ted had all but forced Andromeda to avoid the wizarding world as much as possible. He was not sure how angry they still were, but for her own safety, he wanted her to remain at home.

Ted's impatience peaked again. Home was exactly where he was headed at the moment, and home is exactly where Andromeda was. What was more, for the first time since she had moved in, Andromeda was home alone. His parents had gone on holiday for the week to France, leaving the two to finally have "some peace and quiet without them."

Ted snorted at the thought. He wasn't sure what Andromeda had in mind for their weekend of solitude, but his version of things involved all sorts of activities that were not very quiet at all.

The light finally changed. Ted gunned the gas, anxious as ever to get home.

By the time he reached the house, the snow had gotten worse. He quickly sprinted to the door, unlocked it, and let himself in as quickly as possible. He peered around the hall as he hung up his coat and kicked off his wet boots. The place was silent.

Ted ventured down the hall, listening for any signs of activity in the house. Andromeda couldn't have gone out; her coat was still hanging near the door. It was very possible that she had apparated to her destination, but where could she have gone to? The living room was empty, and no sound came from upstairs. Ted had almost convinced himself that he was alone until a loud bang erupted from the kitchen, followed by an equally loud swear.

Ted made his way to the kitchen door and peered in. His eyes went wide and he bit down on his lip, doing all that he could to hold in a laugh.

Andromeda stood near the counter next to a mess of pans, plates with burned food, and a tray with a completely crumbled cake. The rest of the counter space was covered in a light sprinkle of flour and a mess of ingredient containers which propped up several of his mother's cook books. Her hair was disheveled and an odor of burnt food lingered in the air. What perplexed him the most was that she was not brandishing her wand; the familiar piece of wood lay forgotten on the table. Instead, Andromeda was armed with an oven mitt and a spatula.

Uttering curse after curse under her breath, Andromeda was attempted to put the poor remains of the cake back together. After a few moments she slammed the spatula down in annoyance and turned to reach for her wand, which allowed Ted to see that her entire front of her clothing was likewise covered in flour and streaks of some brown substance. Her hand faltered and curled into a fist before drawing back. She was trying to not use magic.

Comprehension filled Ted. Andromeda had always mentioned that their House Elves had done all the work at home, and the rest of the year at Hogwarts, food was always provided. It never once occurred to him that Andromeda might not know how to cook. She had always offered to help in the kitchen, but his mother had always issued simple tasks; dice the vegetables, or even just washing the dishes after supper. After looking around at the kitchen, it was painfully obvious that this was the first time she had ever attempted the feat by herself.

Ted heard a sniffle. Andromeda had set both hands on the counter – one still in an oven mitt – and was hunched over, her back continuing to face him. Ted wasn't sure if she knew that he was there or not, but in a few long strides he was standing behind her, gripping her shoulder gently. She jumped slightly at his touch but soon relaxed with recognition. Andromeda finally faced him, angry tears etched on her flour-covered face.

"Oh Ted, it's such a disaster!" She eyed the cake with fury. "The directions make it sound like it's so simple, and I did everything they said, and look! First the damn thing burns my hand, then when I try to get it out of the pan, it just fell into a million pieces, and I wasn't sure that the meat was done so I let it cook even longer but then the damn cake was starting to burn and – oh Ted, I wanted this to be such a surprise-"

Ted cut her off by kissing her, smiling down at her. "You're brilliant."

She shook her head dismally. "I'm useless. I don't know how to do anything in the kitchen; your mum can make anything and it looks so easy when she does it!" She bit on her lower lip, her eyes glistening once more with fresh tears. "I don't even know what spells to use! My parents never taught me anything!" She looked down in frustration. "I wanted to cook a nice dinner for you," she said in defeat.

Ted hugged her tightly, planting a kiss on the side of her head. He took her hand into his and pulled the oven mitt off, revealing a rather red palm. She hissed slightly as he lightly brushed his finger over it. Pulling out his wand with his free hand, he murmured a quick numbing spell to help relieve the pain. It wouldn't last, but it at least wouldn't hurt until he could properly heal it.

Andromeda let out a small breath of relief. "Do you remember when you spilt acid all over my hand in forth year? I was so angry at you," she said with a small chuckle.

"Which, as I recall, was your own fault," he retorted.

She made a face at him, one that he had loved since he met her. The way her mouth turned down into a frown and how cold her glare was used to annoy him, but now he counted it as one of the most adorable things she did.

She at length realized he was joking and her glare softened. She rolled her eyes and smacked his arm.

"Git," she said quietly. He wrapped his arms around her and chuckled. She fought a mock-battle to push him off, but at length finally relaxed into him, the two standing quietly for several moments.

"If you want, I'm sure Mum would be happy to teach you to cook. You'd have to learn the Muggle way, but I know you'll be great."

Andromeda didn't reply at first but simply hugged him tighter. "Thank you," she whispered.

Ted kissed her head once more, eyeing the mess of the kitchen. He gave her another quick squeeze before releasing her and raising his wand. With a quick wave and silent incantation, he cleared the ruined dishes and left the place spotless. "Now then," he began as he shoved his wand back into his pocket, "what say I teach you the only thing I know how to cook?"

Andromeda raised an eyebrow but gave a small smile. "What's that?"

Ted opened the refrigerator and grabbed a handful of eggs. "Prepare to be amazed at the oh-so-complex art of making an omelet."


End file.
